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NEW PANTHEON j 

X V OB, _ . 

MYTHOLOGY OF ALL NATIONS. 



ADAPTED TO THE 
BIBLICAL, CLASSICAL, AND GENERAL READER, 
BUT MORE ESPECIALLY 

FOR THE 

USE OF SCHOOLS AND YOUNG PERSONS. 



BY 

GEORGE CRABB, A.M. 

OP MAGDALEN HALL, OXFORD, 
AUTHOR OP ENOLISH SrSONVMES EXPLAINED, TECHNOLOGICAL DICTIONARY, 
UNIVERSAL HISTORICAL DICTIONARY, ETC. 




LONDON: 

HENRY a BOHN, YORK STREET. COVENT GARDEN. 
MDCCCLIV. 



C1 



\ 



MYTH O LOGY. 




KNOWLEDGE. 



INTRODUCTION. 

Mythology, as the word imports, from mythos, a fable, 
and logos, a discourse, signifies a fabulous account of things-, 
particularly of such things as regard false gods and their 
idolatrous worship. 

Idolary, from the words eidolon, an image, and latreia, 
worship, signifies, literally, the worship of images as the 
representations of some god, which constitutes an essential 
part of the heathen mythology. 

The practice of idolatry began to prevail at a very early 
period of the world, soon after the flood, if not before, 



4 



INTRODUCTION. 



The father of Abraham, and probably Abraham himself, for 
a time, served other gods, as appears from that passage in 
Scripture where it is said, " Your fathers dwelt on the other 
side the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, 
and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods and 
we are expressly informed that Laban had his strange gods. 

The principal cause of idolatry was the depravity and 
pride of man, which, after the fall, naturally prompted him 
to worship every thing but the true God ; not only those 
things which are grand, and calculated to excite admiration, 
but also things that are mean and pitiful, and altogether 
unfit to be objects of worship. The Persians, Lybians, and 
Arabians, worshipped fire, water, the winds, the sun, moon, 
and stars ; the Thebans, whales ; the Thessalonians, storks ; 
the Syrophcenicians, doves; the Egyptians, dogs, cats, 
crocodiles, hawks, nay, even leeks, onions, garlick, and other 
objects, animate and inanimate. 

The practice of exalting men to the rank of gods, and 
paying them divine honours, sprung from other subordinate 
causes ; as gratitude to benefactors, admiration of illustrious 
characters, national pride and vain glory, servile flattery of 
subjects to princes, and a fond desire of being immortalized. 

The first example of this species of idolatry on record is 
the deification of Bel, or Belus, the Nimrod of Scripture, 
by his son Ninus, who erected a statue of his father, and 
commanded his subjects to pay the same reverence to it as 
they would have done to Belus if he had been alive. 

The study of Mythology has hitherto been interesting 
principally to the scholar, the poet, and the artist ; but when 
taken in a religious point of view, it ought to be a 
matter of considerable interest to the Christian, as it fur- 
nishes him with the strongest corroborative evidence of the 
veracity of the sacred history, from the fabulous accounts of 
those who were the greatest enemies to divine truth. The 
most important events of the Bible, as the creation, the fall 
of man, deluge, tower of Babel, dispersion of mankind, 
and other incidents, though mutilated and disguised under 
absurd fables, are nevertheless to be traced, more or less 
clearly, in the mythology of most nations ; and there is 
every reason to believe that many of those gods, now so 



GRECIAN AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 



5 



familiarly known to us through the Greeks and Romans, 
were the patriarchs or other personages who are distin- 
guished in Holy Writ. 

Although in the order of time the mythology of the most 
ancient people, which forms the groundwork of later my- 
thologies, might be entitled to the first notice, yet, for the 
purposes of this work, it will be equally convenient, and, for 
readers in general, far more agreeable, to begin with the 
mythology of the Greeks and Romans. 



CHAPTER I. 




THE ACi-IIYr, 



GRECIAN AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 

The mythology of the Greeks was, as to the most impor- 
tant particulars, confessedly borrowed from the Egyptians* 
A 3 



6 GRECIAN AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 

Their philosophers, Anaxagoras, Pythagoras, Thales, 
and others, travelled into Egypt, where they gathered all the 
notions there current concerning the gods, the transmi- 
gration of souls, a future state, and other points, 
which they modelled into a system that was afterwards 
enlarged and adorned by all the charms and embellishments 
that poetry and art could furnish. 

The Greeks and Romans had many deities in common, 
particularly the superior gods, arising partly from adoption, 
on one side or the other, but more especially from the cir- 
cumstance that the two countries were peopled by different 
branches of the same family, descended from one common 
ancestor, Japhet. At the same time it is evident, from the 
difference in the names of the Greek and Roman deities, 
and in their primary attributes, that they drew their my- 
thology from different sources, which may be easily imagined, 
when it is considered that they were cut off from all inter- 
course with each other on their first settlement, and mingled 
with different tribes in the course of their migration. The 
Tuscans or Etrurians had, as is generally admitted, their 
mythology as well as their language, from their Pelasgian 
ancestors, long before the Grecians and Romans were 
known to each other ; but in after ages, when the intercourse 
between these two people became intimate, the Romans, 
without doubt, borrowed many of the fables of the Greeks, 
to which their poets and historians, who are very ample in 
their descriptions of the gods, added much of their own 
invention. 

The Greek and Roman deities are distinguished into 
three classes; namely, the superior gods, the inferior 
gods, and the demigods. 

The superior gods, otherwise called Dii Majorum Gentium , 
that is, gods of the superior houses or families, answering to 
the patricians or nobility of Rome, were so named because 
they were believed to be more eminently employed in the 
government of the world. They were also styled the select 
gods, of whom twelve were admitted into the council of 
Jupiter, and on that account denominated Consentes. 

The images of these twelve gods were fixed in the Forum 
at Rome, six of them being males, and six females ; their 



GRECIAN AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 



7 



names are given in the following distich by the poet 
Ennius : — 

Juno, Vesta, Minerva, Ceres, Diana, Mars, 
Mercurius, Jove, Neptunus, Vulcanus, Apollo. 

These twelve gods were supposed to preside over the 
twelve months ; to each of them was allotted a month : 
January to Juno, February to Neptune, March to Minerva, 
April to Venus, May to Apollo, June to Mercury, July to 
Jupiter, August to Ceres, September to Vulcan, October to 
Mars, November to Diana, December to Vesta. They 
likewise presided over the twelve celestial signs. If to 
these twelve be added the eight following, namely, Janus, 
Saturnus, Genius, Sol, Pluto, Bacchus, Terra, and Luna, 
there will be twenty of the first class, or superior gods. 
These superior gods were likewise distinguished, from their 
usual place of residence, into celestial, terrestrial, 
marine, and infernal gods. 

The inferior gods comprehended what Ovid called the 
Celestial Populace, answering to the plebeians among the 
Romans, who had no place in heaven, as the Penates, 
Lares, rural deities, &c. 

The third class, or demigods, was composed of such as 
derived their origin from a god or goddess and a mortal, 
or such as by their valour and exploits had raised themselves 
to the rank of immortals. Of this class was Hercules, 
JEsculapius, Castor, Pollux, Achilles, &c. 

To the list of the Roman gods might be added a fourth 
class, called novensiles, which the Sabines brought to Rome 
by the command of King Tatius. They were so named 
because, as some suppose, they were the last of all that 
were reckoned among the gods. Of this class also were the 
deities by whose help and means, as Cicero says, men are 
advanced to heaven and obtain a place among the gods, 
namely, the moral virtues, as mercy, chastity, piety, &c. 



CHAOS AND THE CREATION. 



CHAPTER IT. 

CHAOS AND THE CREATION. 

Chaos was the oldest of the gods, according to Hesiod, 
whose children were Tellus, TiTiEA, Terra, or Vesta (in 
the Greek Gcea, signifying the earth), Tartarus and 
Amor, Erebus and Nox, 

Tellus had a son, named Ccelus (or Caelum, in Greek, 
Uranus, signifying heaven), whom she afterwards married. 
Erom them descended Pelagus, Pontus, Oceanus, &c. They 
were also the parents of Saturn, Cybele, the Titans, giants, 
&c, of whom more will be said hereafter. 

Erebus and Nox were united, and from their union 
sprang jEther and Hemera ; that is, Air and Day. Be- 
tween Hesiod' s and the Mosaic account of the creation 
there is a striking analogy, whether the Greeks took it 
immediately from the Bible, or indirectly from the Egyp- 
tians. Hesiod begins with Chaos, from which sprang the 
Earth ; Tartarus, that is, the inner abyss in or under the 
earth ; and Amor, or the lovely order and beauty of the 
world. Moses speaks of the chaotic state of the earth, the 
face of the deep or abyss on which the Spirit of God moved, 
and then of the beauty and order of the whole as it came 
out of the hands of the Almighty Creator. 

Again, Hesiod tells us that Chaos brought forth Erebus 
(Gloominess), and Nox (Night), and from these two sprang 
Air and Day, that is, when light was divided from the dark- 
ness, and both together made one day ; which corresponds 
with what Moses says of the gloomy darkness that existed 
before the creation, and of the firmament, and the dividing 
the day from the night. 

Hesiod, moreover, tells us that Chaos begat Ccelum or 
Ccelus, beset with stars that covered the whole earth, and 
was the residence of the blessed gods ; that is, in the words 
of Moses, God called the dry land, earth, and the firma- 
ment, wherein he .planted the stars, he called heaven. 

Hesiod then says that Tellus begat high mountains, and 
delightful caves for the nymphs, as also Pelagus and Pontus, 



SATURN. 



9 



that is, the seas, and Oceanus, the ocean ; and Moses says, 
"God gathered the waters into one place," and " the gathering 
together of the waters he called seas." Hesiod then relates 
the progeny of Tellus and Coelum, that is, the generative 
powers of earth and heaven, corresponding with the Mosaic 
account of the earth yielding grass, &c. ; and in this manner 
he fills the world with gods, goddesses, and nymphs, as, 
according to the Mosaic account, God filled the world with 
men, "beasts, fowls, and fishes. 

The Romans appear to have borrowed their fictions 
respecting the creation of the world from the same source 
as the Greeks. Ovid expressly calls Chaos, rudis indiges- 
taque moles, a rude indigested heap ; or, as Moses says, " the 
earth was without form and void after which the poet goes 
on in a strain very similar to what has already been set forth. 

The Etruscans, who were among the original settlers in 
Italy, gave, according to Suidas, the following account of 
the creation. "God," says a philosopher of that nation, 
" created the universe in six thousand years, and appointed 
the same period of time to be the extent of its duration. In 
the first period of a thousand years, God created the heavens 
and the earth ; in the second, the visible firmament ; in the 
third, the sea and all the waters that are in the earth ; in 
the fourth, the sun, moon, and stars ; in the fifth, every 
living soul of birds, reptiles, and quadrupeds, which have 
their abode either on the land, in the air, or the water ; and 
in the sixth, man alone." Now when it is considered that 
in another part of Scripture it is said, that " one day is with 
the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one 
day," it is easy to explain the origin of this fiction. 



CHAPTER III. 

SATURN. 

Saturn, the son of Terra or Vesta the Elder, and Ccelus, 
is styled the father of the gods. His brothers were, Titan, 
Oceanus, the Cyclops, and others ; his sisters, Ceres,Tethys, 
and Ops, Rhea, or Cybele, whom he afterwards married. 



10 



SATURN, 



Titan, his eldest brother, was entitled by seniority to 
succeed to the kingdom of his father, Coelus ; but, at the 
request of his mother, he yielded his right to his brother 
Saturn, on condition that he should not bring up any male 
children. 




SATURN, 



Saturn, according to agreement, devoured his sons as fast 
as they were born, until his wife, having brought forth twins, 
Jupiter and Juno, gave her husband a stone to devour, in- 
stead of Jupiter, whom she sent to be nursed on Mount Ida 
by the priestesses of Cybele. They, by the noise of their 
drums, are said to have drowned the cries of the child. 

By a similar trick she saved Neptune and Pluto. 

The stone which she is said to have given was called 
Betylus, and is here introduced in allusion to the stones 
called Bethulia, which, according to Sanchthoniatho, were 
contrived by Uranus, and possessed the power of motion ; 
all which refers to the stone set up by Jacob, which, in the 
Hebrew, is called Bethel, that is, " the House of the Lord," 
whence arose the worship of stones, of which there is fre- 
quent mention in the Grecian, Roman, and other mytho- 
logies. 



SATURN. 



1! 



Titan, having discovered the fraud, and finding the com- 
pact between him and his brother thus violated, had recourse 
to arms, defeated Saturn, and, having taken him and his 
wife prisoner, confined them in chains in Tartarus. 

In the meantime, Jupiter, being grown up, raised an 
army of Cretans, released his father from confinement, and 
caused all the gods to swear fidelity to him. 

Saturn, whom an oracle had foretold that his son would 
dethrone him, soon grew jealous of Jupiter, and sought to 
take away his life ; whereupon Jupiter rebelled against his 
father, and compelled him to flee into Italy. 

Saturn was received kindly by Janus, king of Italy, and 
admitted by him as a partner of his throne. In return for 
this kindness, Saturn endued Janus with extraordinary 
wisdom ; so that he received divine honours after his death, 
and had a temple erected to him by Romulus and Tatius, 
which Numa Pompilius ordained should be opened in time 
of war, and shut in time of peace. 

After the arrival of Saturn, money was coined, with a ship 
on one side, to denote his coming in a ship, and a head of 
Janus, with two faces, to denote either his knowledge of 
things past and to come, or his sharing the regal authority 
with Saturn. 

Under the reign of Saturn, the people, who before wan- 
dered about like beasts, were reduced to civil society, and 
taught the art of husbandry, as well as the liberal arts, 
whence Italy was anciently called Saturnia, from him, and 
also Latium, from lateo, to hide, because there he lay hidden. 
For the same reason, the mountain, afterwards called the 
Capitoline Hill, was first named Saturnius ; and the 
festival instituted in honour of him was named Saturnalia, 
at which revelry of all kinds went forward. 

By some writers a different account of Saturn is given, 
being represented as a tyrannical, covetous, and cruel prince, 
who reigned over Italy and Sicily, enlarged his dominions 
by conquest, oppressed his subjects by taxes, and kept them 
in awe by garrisons. Certain it is that human sacrifices 
were first offered to him, because he was thought to delight 
in human blood, and on that account the gladiators, who 
were under his protection, fought at his festival. 



12 



SATURN. 



The Romans esteemed Saturn an infernal god, as Plutarch 
says, because the planet Saturn is malignant and hurtful ; 
yet he is commonly reckoned a terrestrial god. 

Those who sacrificed to him had their heads bare, and his 
priests wore scarlet garments. On his altars were placed 
wax tapers lighted, because by Saturn men were reduced 
from the darkness of error to the light of truth. 



CHAPTER IV. 

! 

saturn (continued). 

The Latin name, Saturnus, is derived from satus, sowing, 
because he was reckoned the god of husbandry ; but the 
Greeks gave him the name of Chronos, signifying time, be- 
cause he was the god of Time ; whence the fable of his 
devouring his children is explained, by supposing time to 
devour days, months, and years, which are produced by him. 

The ancient statues of Saturn wear chains, in remem- 
brance of those with which he was loaded by his brother 
Titan. These were taken off at the feast of the Saturnalia, 
to show that his reign had been that of liberty. 

He is usually represented as a decrepit old man, some- 
times holding a scythe or sickle in one hand, and a key, or 
a circumfiexed serpent biting its tail, in the other. The 
scythe was either a symbol of husbandry, or it denoted that 
time destroys all things ; the key, to signify that time 
unlocks all things ; and the serpent, to denote the revolution 
of the year. Sometimes he has also an hour-glass standing 
by him, which is a fit emblem of the god of time ; sometimes 
he has wings, to denote the flight of time. 

The story of Saturn evidently points to several persons 
and things in Scripture, although jumbled together in 
strange confusion. 

The poets feign that the world was divided into four ages. 

The first, called the Golden Age, was ascribed to th 



SATURN. 



13 



reign of Saturn, when justice and innocence reigned through- 
out the earth, and the soil produced what was necessary for 
the subsistence and enjoyment of mankind. 

The second, or Silver Age, was so called because men 
began to degenerate ; the third, or the Brazen Age, be- 
cause they became more and more licentious; and the 
fourth, or Iron Age, because they had reached to the 
highest pitch of profligacy. In this account we read, in 
other words, the condition of man before and after the Fall, 
as described in the Bible. 

From the circumstance of Saturn being coupled with the 
age of innocence, some have supposed him to be Adam. 

Others, judging from his character for ambition and a 
love of conquest, have supposed him to represent Ximrod ; 
but the circumstances of the narrative, which agree in so 
many particulars with the account of Xoah, lead naturally 
to the conclusion that he was intended to represent that 
patriarch. 

In the time of Xoah the whole earth spoke one language, 
and it is said that in Saturn's reign there was but one 
language. 

Saturn had three sons, so had Xoah. 

Ham, by the heathens called Jupiter Ammon, or Hammon, 
is said to have ascended to the possession of heaven because 
he entered upon the hot places of Egypt and Libya, which 
were thought to be in the confines of heaven. 

Japhet had his lot in Europe and the islands, and there- 
fore was afterwards styled Xeptune, or the god of the sea. 

Shem had the name of Pluto, or the god of hell, because 
among his posterity remained the true belief that persons 
who departed this life should not die eternally, but, according 
to their actions here, would, in another life, receive their 
rewards or punishments. 

Noah was the first planter of vineyards, and the art of 
cultivating vines is attributed to Saturn, whence drunken- 
ness was practised to the utmost excess at his Saturnalia, i 

Xoah saved himself in a ship, and Saturn is said to have 
done the same when he fled into Italy. To these might be 
added, if necessary, other points of agreement 

B 



14 



CYBELE. 




CHAPTER \. 

CYBELE. 

Cybele, or Vesta the Elder, was the daughter of Coelus 
and Terra, and wife of her brother Saturn. She was com- 
monly called by the Greeks Hestia ; but she had a variety 
of names, either according to her attributes, or the places 
where she was worshipped. 

This deity was called Cybele, from Cybelus, a mountain ot 
Phrygia, where sacrifices to her were first instituted, or from 
cybele, a cube, because the cube, or die, which is every way 
square, was dedicated to her. 

She is named Ops, because she brings help to every thing 
contained in this world. 

Rhea, from the abundance of benefits, which, without 
ceasing, flow from her. 

Dyndymene, from Mount Dyndymus, in Phrygia. 

Mater Berecynthia, Berecynthian Mother, from Berecyn- 
thus, a castle in Phrygia. 

Bona Dea, Good Goddess, because all good things for the 
support of life proceed from her. 

Fauna, because she is said to favour all creatures. 



CYBELE. 



15 



Idaa Mater, from Mount Ida in Phrygia, or Crete, for 
she was highly honoured at both places. 

And, lastly, Magna Mater, the Great Mother, because she 
was regarded as the mother, as Saturn was the father, of the 
gods. 

The sacrifices to Cybele were performed in great privacy, 
whence they were called Opertanea, and the place where they 
were performed, Opertum, that is, hidden. They were cele- 
brated, like those of Bacchus, with a confused noise of 
timbrels, pipes, and cymbals, and the sacrificants howled as 
if they were mad, throwing themselves about with many 
frantic and indecent gesticulations. Her temple was opened 
not by hands, but by prayers ; none entered who had tasted 
garlick ; priests sacrificed to her sitting and touching the 
earth, and offered the hearts of the victims. 

Among the trees, the box and pine were sacred to her ; 
the box, because the pipes used in her sacrifices were made 
of it ; the pine, for the sake of Atys, a boy whom she loved, 
but whom, for his breaking his vow of chastity, she turned 
into a pine. 

The priests of Cybele were called 

Galli, from a river of Phrygia of that name ; also Curetes, 
from the island of Crete, where they nursed Jupiter. 

Corybantes, from their butting with their foreheads like 
rams, when they danced at the sacrifices. 

Cabiri, from mountains of Phrygia of that name, or from 
the Hebrew or Phoenician cabir, mighty ; a name given to 
their principal deities, of which more will be said hereafter ; 
or from the Phoenician cabar, strong, mighty. 

Telchines, from famous magicians so called. 

And Dactyli from dactylos, a finger, because they were ten 
in number, like the fingers. 

Cybele is usually represented as seated in a lofty chariot, 
drawn by lions, crowned with towers, and bearing in her hand 
a key. Being the goddess not of cities only, but of all 
things which the earth sustains, she was crowned with tur- 
rets ; whilst the key implied her custody of cities, as also 
that in winter the earth locks those treasures which she 
brings forth and dispenses in summer. She rides in a 
chariot, because the earth was supposed to hang suspended 



16 



AURORA. 



in the air, balanced and poised by its own weight ; and as 
the chariot is supported by wheels, so the earth is a voluble 
body and turns round ; the chariot is drawn by lions, because 
nothing is so fierce, so savage, or so ungovernable, but a 
motherly piety and tenderness is able to tame it and make 
it submit to the yoke. Her garments are painted with 
divers colours, particularly green, because such a dress was 
most suitable to the appearance of the earth. Sometimes 
she is represented sitting on a pedestal with a sphere behind 
her, to denote the earth, a lion by her side, and a branch in 
her hand, all attributes of her as the goddess of the earth. 

The worship of Cybele, or the earth, is supposed to have 
commenced in Phrygia. 

This deity was unknown in Italy till the time of Hanni- 
bal's invasion, when the Romans, consulting the Sibylline 
oracles, found that the enemy could not be expelled until 
they brought the Idaean Mother, or Cybele, to Rome. The 
senate accordingly despatched ambassadors to Attalus, king 
of Phrygia, to request the statue of this goddess, which was 
of stone, at the city of Pessinus, in Galatia. When brought 
to Rome, the ladies went to the Tyber to receive her, but the 
vessel which carried her being miraculously stopped, and 
remaining immovable in the Tyber, the vestal Claudia, who 
had fallen under the suspicion of levity, evinced her purity 
by drawing the vessel on shore with her girdle ; and the 
goddess was introduced into the city, according to the Sibyl- 
line oracle, by the best man of Rome, whom the senate 
adjudged to be young Publius Scipio. This image was 
reputed to have fallen from heaven, and was therefore 
esteemed as one of the pledges of stability for the Roman 
state. 

From the name of Vesta which is given to this goddess, 
she is often confounded with Vesta the younger, her 
daughter. 

CHAPTER VI. 

AURORA. 

Auroua, or the goddess of the morning, was, according 
to some, the daughter of Titan and Terra ; but Hesiod 



AURORA. 



17 



makes her the daughter of Hyperion, andTHiA, the sister of 
the sun and moon, and the mother of the winds and stars. 
Orpheus calls her the harbinger of Titan or the sun, because 
she is the personification of that light which precedes the 
appearance of the sun. 

The poets describe this goddess as rising out of the ocean 
in a saffron robe, seated in a chariot of gold, drawn by two 
or four horses, opening the gates of light and scattering the 
dew. Virgil represents her horses as of flame-colour, and 
varies their number from two to four, according as she rises 
slower or faster. 

Aurora is said to have been the daughter of Titan and 
the Earth, because the light of the morning seems to rise 
out of the earth and to proceed from the sun, which imme- 
diately follows it. She is styled mother of the winds, because 
the winds are observed very frequently to fall towards even- 
ing, and rise again in the morning, as if attendant upon their 
mother. 

By Astraeus, her husband, she had the stars and the four 
winds, Argestes, Boreas, Notus, and Zephyrus. 

By Tithonus, the son of Laomedon, and brother of Priam, 
king of Troy, she had Memnon. She took this Tithonus, 
who was remarkable for his beauty, with her into heaven, 
and obtained from the Fates immortality for him, but forgot 
to ask that he should not grow old, whereupon he at length 
fell into dotage, and Aurora, in compassion to him, changed 
him into a grasshopper, which they say moults when it is 
old, and grows young again. 

Memnon, their son, went to Troy to assist king Priam, 
where he was killed in a duel with Achilles, and the poets 
feign that in the place where he fell a fountain arose, which, 
every year, on the same day on which he died, sent forth 
blood instead of water. As his body lay on the funeral pile, 
it is said to have been changed into a bird by his mother 
Aurora's intercession, and that many other birds flew out 
of the pile with him, which were called after him Aves Mem- 
noniee, who, dividing themselves into two troops, and furiously 
fighting with their claws and beaks, appeased by their blood 
the ghost of Memnon, from whom they sprung. 

There was a memorable statue of this Memnon made of 
bS 



18 



JUPITER. 



black marble, and set up in the temple of Serapis, at Thebes, 
in Egypt, of which it is related, that the mouth of the statue, 
when first touched by the rays of the sun, sent forth a sweet 
and harmonious sound, as though it rejoiced when its mother, 
Aurora, came ; but, at the setting of the sun, it sent forth 
a low melancholy tone, as though it lamented its mother's 
departure. 

The Romans gave the name of Aurora to this deity, from 
aurum, gold, on account of her rosy colour ; the Greeks 
gave her the name of Eous or Heous, that is, the morning, 
because she is the goddess of the morning. 



CHAPTER VII. 




JUPITER. 

There were several Jupiter? among the Greeks and Ro- 
mans ; but the most famous Jupiter, to whom the attributes 
ascribed to the others properly belonged, was the son of 



JUPITER, 



19 



Saturn and Rhea who, as before observed, was saved by 
a trick of his mother. 

Jupiter, after having waged a successful war against the 
Titans, and deposed his father, ascended the throne, and 
received the homage of the other gods ; but he had not 
reigned long before Juno, Neptune, and Pallas, thinking 
he affected too much the tyrant, conspired against him, and 
threw him into bonds, from which he was delivered by the 
giants Cottus, Gyges, and Briareus. 

After this Jupiter was engaged in another war with the 
giants, who sought to revenge the defeat of the Titans ; 
but were themselves routed, and most of them killed. 

Jupiter having thus restored peace to the universe, 
divided it by lot between himself and his brothers, Neptune 
and Pluto, The dominion of the Sea fell to Neptune, 
that of the Infernal regions, to Pluto ; and of the Celes- 
tial, to Jupiter. 

In this dominion of Jupiter, Aidos, or Reverence paid to 
good men by their inferiors, and Dice, or Equity, were 
always attendant on his throne, intimating that justice in a 
prince will ever command respect and obedience. The 
LixcB Preces, or Supplications, his daughters by Juno, were 
likewise constantly near him. 

The place of Jupiter's birth has been variously repre- 
sented : in Crete, at Thebes in Bceotia, and among the 
Messenians ; the more general opinion is in favour of 
Crete, as his birth-place ; but Callimachus, in his hymn to 
Jupiter, declares himself unwilling to decide. 

It was no less doubtful by whom he was nursed. Virgil 
tells us he was fed by the bees, which followed the musical 
sounds made by the Curetes, to whom he was entrusted ; and 
out of gratitude for which that insect was changed by him 
from an iron to a golden colour. Some affirm that he was 
nursed by Amalthjea and Melissa, daughters of Melissus, 
king of Crete, who fed him with goat's-milk and honey ; 
others, that Amaltheea was the name of a goat that nursed 
him. whose horn he presented to those princesses, with this 
privilege annexed, that whoever possessed it should have 
whatever they desired; whence it came to be called the 
Horn of plenty. After this, the goat dying, Jupiter 



20 



JUPITER. 



placed her amongst the stars ; and, by the advice of Themis, 
to intimidate the giants, covered with her skin his shield, 
whence it obtained the name of jEgis, i. e« a goat. 

Some report that he and his sister Juno sucked the 
breasts of Fortune ; others, that Vesta suckled him, besides 
many others, who claimed the honour of his education. 

When Jupiter grew up, he built a city at Diets, in Crete, 
the ruins of which remained many ages after. 

Jupiter had many wives ; the first, Metis, or Prudence, 
whom he is said to have devoured when with child, by 
which he himself becoming pregnant, Minerva issued out 
of his head, completely armed : the second, Themis ; the 
third, one in the Gnossian region; and lastly, Juno, his 
sister, to obtain whom he transformed himself into a 
cuckoo, and flying for that purpose to the hill Tronax, 
near Corinth, occasioned it to be called Coccyx, the Greek 
name of that bird. Jupiter having previously occasioned 
a storm, the goddess resorted to this hill for shelter, and 
the cuckoo, apparently from the same motive, flew thither* 
trembling, and perched on her lap. Compassionating the 
bird, she placed it in her bosom, where Jupiter soon dis- 
covered himself, and promised her marriage. 

By his wife Juno, Jupiter had Hebe, Mars, Lucina, and 
Vulcan ; and by Themis, or Justice, the Horm, the Fates, 
Eunomia, Dice, and Irene. He was likewise the father 
of an innumerable progeny by other women ; among these 
were Hercules, by Alcmena; Castor and Pollux, by 
Leda, the wife of Tindarus ; Dardanus, by Electra ; Pe- 
lagus, by Niobe ; the Graces, by Eurynome ; Proserpine, 
by Ceres ; the nine Muses, by Mnemosyne ; Apollo and 
Diana, by Latona. 

Jupiter is generally represented under the figure of a 
majestic man, with a beard, seated on a throne, holding 
thunder in one hand, and a sceptre in the other, with the 
giants whom he conquered at his feet. 

The sceptre of Jupiter, they say, was made of cypress, 
which is a symbol of the eternity of his empire ; because 
that wood is free from corruption. At his side, and sometimes 
on his sceptre, sits an eagle; either because he was brought 
up by it, as some will have it, or heretofore an eagle resting 



JUPITER. 



21 



on his head portended his reign ; or because in his wars 
with the giants an eagle brought him his thunder, and 
thence received the title of Jupiter's Armour-bearer. 

Jupiter wears golden shoes, and an embroidered cloak, 
sometimes adorned with various flowers and figures of 
animals. 

The Lacedaemonians made his statue without ears, to 
shew that he was not ready to hear all stories ; and the 
Cretans were so liberal as to give him four ears, to denote 
that there was nothing of which he had not cognizance. 
In a statue of him in the palace of Priam, king of Troy, 
he had three eyes, one of which was placed in his forehead. 

Artists hare represented Jupiter in his different cha- 
racters, as the Mild Jupiter, the Terrible Jupiter, 
Jupiter Tonans, Fulminans. &:c. 

The face of the Mild Jupiter has a mixture of dignity 
and ease in it ; that of the Terrible Jupiter was angry or 
clouded : besides, that the statues of the latter were made 
of black marble, and those of the former, of white. 

The Jupiter Tonans is represented as holding the triple 
bolt in his right hand, and standing in a chariot, whirled 
on impetuously by four horses, whose trampling in the 
brazen vault of heaven was supposed by the poets to cause 
a thunder-storm. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
Jupiter ( continued ). 

The appellations given to Jupiter by the Greeks and 
Romans were very various, either from the place where 
he was worshipped, or from some attribute given to him. 

He was called Capitolinus, from the Capitoline hill, upon 
the top of which he had the first temple that was built in 
Rome. 

Tarpeius, from the Tarpeian rock, on which this temple 
was built 

Optimus Maiimus, the best and greatest, from his power 
and willingness to profit all men. 



22 



JUPITER. 



Dies Pater, the father of the day, and Pluvius, as com- 
manding the rain ; and because he was supposed to be the 
god of the air. 

Dodonceus, from a grove of oaks in Dodonaea, which were 
sacred to him, and in which was the oldest oracle of all 
Greece. 

Feretrius, because after the Romans had overcome their 
enemies, they carried the spoils, . called spolia opima, the 
grand spoils, to his temple. 

Lapis, or Lapideeus, because the Romans believed that 
an oath made to him under that appellation had peculiar 
solemnity. 

Olympius, from Olympus, the heaven where he resides. 

Stator, a title given to him by Romulus, when, fighting 
with the Sabines, he caused, by his prayers to Jupiter 
Stator, the flight of his troops to be stopped, and thereby 
secured the victory. 

Xenius, or Hospitalis, hospitable, because he was thought 
to be the author of the laws and customs concerning hospi- 
tality ; whence the Greeks called presents given to stran- 
gers, Xenia, as the Latins called them Lautia. 

Jupiter was by distinction styled the Father and King of 
Gods and Men ; for kings were said to be the offspring of 
Jove, and he was esteemed to be the common parent of 
kings and men. He is said to have instructed kings how 
to suppress violence, and rule by law and equity : to have 
instituted magistrates, erected tribunals, incited the good 
to the practice of virtue, and restrained the vicious by the 
fear of punishment ; but, notwithstanding they ascribed to 
him such power, wisdom, and justice, yet in the excess of 
their blindness, they intermingled in the character of this 
deity, the creature of their depraved imaginations, vices 
and weaknesses of which they themselves might well be 
ashamed. 

Some anecdotes are related of Jupiter, which serve to 
illustrate his character as the supposed governor of the 
world. Having heard a report of the wickedness and im- 
piety of men, he is said to have descended to the earth, in 
order to know the truth of it ; and, on coming to the house 
of Lycaon, king of Arcadia, he declared himself a god : 



JUPITER. 



23 



but instead of having sacrifices offered to him, he was 
derided as an imposter. Lycaon, in order to try whether 
he. was a god, as he pretended, killed one of his domestics, 
and served him up at the table of Jupiter, who was so 
enraged at the barbarity of the wretch, that he fired his 
palace with lightning, and turned Lycaon into a wolf. 

On another visit, for the same purpose, which Jupiter 
made into Phrygia, attended by Mercury in disguise, he 
found himself rebuffed at every house where he applied for 
refreshment ; until he reached a poor cottage, inhabited by 
a labourer named Philemon, with Baucis, his wife. These 
old people set before him the best they had, with so much 
willingness, that Jupiter desired them to follow him ; and 
when they reached the top of a hill and looked back, they 
saw the whole country swallowed up except their own cot- 
tage, which was converted into a temple. Being then 
desired to ask whatever they wished, they requested that 
they might be the priests of that temple, and die both 
together. Their request was granted ; and after living to 
an extreme old age, they were turned into trees, an oak 
and a lime, at the same moment, as they were standing at 
the door of the temple. 

These stories remind us of the wickedness which, accord- 
ing to the Scripture narrative, prevailed on the earth in the 
patriarchal ages ; and in the latter we recognise the visit 
made by the angels to Lot and his family, previous to the 
destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha. 

Jupiter, as the sovereign governor of the world, was 
worshipped under different names, by different nations. 

The Greeks gave to this deity the name of Zeus, from 
zao, to live, because he was supposed to give life to 
animals. 

The Babylonians and Assyrians, whom he governed, 
worshipped him under the name of Belus, or Baal, signify- 
ing Lord. 

In Libya, Jupiter delivered oracles by the name of 
Hammon. 

Among the Egyptians he was the same with Osiris. 
Among the Ethiopians he was adored under the name 
of Assabinus. 



24 



JUNO, 



Among the Phoenicians, under that of Aretrius. 

Among the Sidonians, under that of Maratinus. 

At Gaza, under that of Maranasis, or the king of men. 

The Roman name of Jupiter, Jove, from the Hebrew, 
Jah, the name of Jehovah; making, with the addition of 
the word pater, Joupater, and Jupiter, shews most clearly 
that the attributes of this deity were borrowed immediately 
from the divine attributes, at the pleasure of those who 
knew the true God, but were determined to reject him. 

In the account of this deity, we are reminded of several 
things in the Scripture. 

The rebellion of the giants against Jupiter, and the 
wickedness of men in those days, correspond fully with the 
rebellious attempt to build the Tower of Babel, which was 
made by Nimrod and his impious subjects, and frustrated 
by the divine interposition. 

The deluge, though wrongly fixed to have happened in 
the reign of Jupiter, is nevertheless set forth so clearly and 
circumstantially, as to leave no doubt that it was the same 
event as is narrated in the Bible. 

The dispersion of Noah's descendants is aptly enough 
illustrated, by the division of the universe between Jupiter 
and his two brothers ; although the story is here, as in all 
other cases, naturally disguised under much fiction. 

That Ham, the wicked son of Noah, was the Jupiter of 
the Libyans, is clear, from the name of Hammon, whom 
the Greeks adopted into their mythology, under the appel- 
lation of Jupiter Hammon. 

In like manner we have, in the Egyptian Osiris, a repre- 
sentative of Misraim, or Misor, the son of Ham, who colo- 
nized Egypt, and established a monarchy there* 



CHAPTER IX. 

JUNO. 

Juno, daughter of Saturn and Rhea, was sister and 
wife of Jupiter. Although the poets agree that she came 



JUNO. 



25 



into the world at the same birth with her husband, yet they 
differ as to the place ; some fixing her nativity at Argon, 
others, according to the more general opinion, at Samos, 
near the river Imbrassus, 



As queen of heaven, Juno was conspicuous for her 
state. 

Besides a number of nymphs, she had Iris, the daughter 
of Thaumas and Electra, and sister to the Harpies, as her 
constant attendant 

Iris, or the rainbow, was Juno's messenger, as Mercury 
was Jupiter's. 

When Juno appeared in all her majesty, she is repre- 
sented riding in a golden chariot, drawn by peacocks, hold- 
ing a sceptre in her hand, and wearing a crown beset with 
roses and lilies ; but she is most commonly represented as 
a matron, in a modest and decent dress ; sometimes with a 




c 



26 



distaff or spear in one hand, and a patera in the other, as if 
she was going to sacrifice ; or sometimes a sceptre. She is 
also occasionally veiled. 

Of all the divinities of the Pagan world, there was no one, 
except Apollo, whose worship was more solemn and exten- 
sive ; and no place in Greece wnere she received greater 
honours than at Argos, where a temple was erected to her 
by Phoroneus, son of Inachus, in the porch of which were 
placed the statues of her priestesses. 

She was also highly honoured "at Corinth and Olympia, 
where games were celebrated to her honour every fifth year. 

Her worship at Rome was very ancient. Numa Pom- 
pilius built a temple to her, which none but virtuous women 
were permitted to enter. 

Juno had different appellations given to her for various 
reasons. 

She was called Argiva, from the people of Argos, by 
whom sacrifices, called Heraia, were celebrated in honour 
of her, consisting of a hecatomb, or an hundred oxen. 

Juga, because she was the goddess of marriage. 

Nuptialis, because she presided at the nuptial ceremony ; 
and when they sacrificed to her under this name, they took 
the gall out of the victim, and cast it behind the altar, to 
signify that there ought to be no gall or anger betwixt 
married people. 

The name of Egeria was given to her, because she pro- 
moted, as they believed, the facility of births. 

Lucina and Lucilia, either from the grove in which she 
had a temple, or from the light of this world into which 
children are brought by her. 

Sospita, because all the women were supposed to be under 
her safeguard ; every one of which had a Juno, as every 
man had his Genius. 

Regina Divum, because she was held to be queen of the 
gods, as Jupiter was the king. 

The character of Juno, which was most in favour at Rome, 
and in which she was oftenest represented, was that of Juno 
Matrona, Juno the Matron. 

As mythologists made Jupiter guilty of shameful vices, 
so they ascribed to Juno the weaknesses of her sex. He 



JUNO. 



27 



was faithless, she jealous to excess, imperious, arrogant, 
implacable in her resentments, and withal a scold. The 
poets give us a picture of matrimonial broils between 
Jupiter and Juno, of which there are but too frequent ex- 
amples in real life. 

On one occasion, Juno is said to have entered into a 
conspiracy wiih Neptune and Pallas against Jupiter, for 
which she was punished by having two anvils hung to her 
feet, golden manacles fastened on her hands, and in this 
condition suspended in the air, where she hovered, a spec- 
tacle to the other deities. 

She is likewise represented to have perplexed the coun- 
sels of Jupiter exceedingly during the Trojan war, which 
was prosecuted by her instrumentality to a fatal termina- 
tion, out of resentment to Paris, the son of Priam, king of 
Troy, on account of his adjudging the prize of beauty to 
Venus rather than to herself. 

The Latin name, Juno, is said to have been given to this 
goddess from juvo, to help, because she rendered great 
assistance to married women. 

The Greek name, Hera, is derived from aer, the air, be- 
cause by Juno, as some believed, was meant the air, as by 
J upiter was meant fire : hence arose the story that Juno 
was hung by Jupiter in the air ; the ancients signifying 
thereby, that the air, though naturally more like fire, yet it 
was sometimes mingled with earth and water, the heaviest 
elements. 

The ancients are not agreed as to Juno's children : Hesiod 
makes them to be Hebe, Venus, Lucina, and Vulcan; 
others assign her but three, — Hebe, Ilithya or Lucina, and 
Arge ; to whom have been added by others, Mars and 
Typhon. 

Juno is said by mythologists to have conceived Hebe on 
eating lettuces. 

Hebe, for her extraordinary beauty, was made the god- 
dess of youth, and had the office of cupbearer to Jupitev 
given to her ; but when, by an unlucky fall, she made the 
guests laugh, Jupiter was enraged, turned her out of her 
office, and put Ganymede, the son of Tros, a Trojan king, 
in her stead 



28 NEPTUNE. 

Hebe has been represented with a young airy look, 




drinking out of a cup, or in the words of Milton,— rt Quaff- 
ing immortality and joy." 



CHAPTER X. 

NEPTUNE. 

Neptune, the son of Saturn and Rhea, or Ops, and 
brother of Jupiter, is said to have been saved by his mother 
from being devoured, by a stratagem, she having caused him 
to be conveyed to some shepherds in order to be brought 
up ; at the same time pretending to be delivered of a foal 
or colt, which she gave instead of her son to be devoured 
by Saturn. Some say that his nurse's name was Arno; 
others, that he was brought up by his sister Juno. 



NEPTUNE. 



29 



He assisted his brother, Jupiter, in his wars with the 
giants ; and, on the division of the universe, the sea was 
assigned to him for his empire. 




Being afterwards engaged in a conspiracy with Juno and 
Pallas against Jupiter, he was expelled from heaven, and 
fled with Apollo to Laomedon, king of Troy, whom he 
assisted in building the walls of that city ; but being dis- 
missed unrewarded, he in revenge sent a sea-monster to 
lay waste the country. 

He was likewise engaged in a controversy with Minerva, 
respecting the right of giving a name to the capital city of 
Cecropia, upon which they agreed to refer the matter to the 
assembly of the gods. By them it was decreed, that which- 
ever of the two presented the most valuable gift to mankind 
should be allowed the privilege contended for. Neptune 
then struck the earth with his trident, and produced a horse, 
called Scyphius ; but Minerva caused the olive to spring 
up, upon which she was declared the victor. 

c 3 



30 



NEPTUNE. 



Some have explained this fable, by supposing that the 
horse being the emblem of war, and the olive the emblem 
of peace, the olive was deemed to be more beneficial to 
mankind than the horse; but others suppose, and with 
greater reason, that the horse here denoted ships ; for as 
ships and olive-trees were the two things for which that 
country was most noted, it was thought politic by this 
means to bring the citizens over from too great a fondness 
for sea affairs to the cultivation of the land, by shewing that 
Pallas was preferable to Neptune ; or, in other words, 
husbandry to sailing. 

The favourite wife of Neptune was Amphitrite, who, 
for a long time rejected him, until he sent a dolphin to 
intercede for him ; who, succeeding, the god in acknow- 
ledgment placed him among the stars. 

Neptune had likewise two other wives, the one called 
Salacia, from the salt water, the other Venilia, from the 
ebbing and flowing of the tides. The most remarkable of 
his children were Triton, by his wife Amphitrite ; Phor- 
cus, or Phorcys, by the nymph Thesea ; and Proteus, as 
some say, by Phcenice. 

Neptune is usually represented with black hair and blue 
eyes, seated in a chariot made of a shell, and drawn by sea- 
horses ; clothed in an azure mantle, and holding in his 
hand the trident, with which he commanded the waves. 
Around him played the sea- nymphs and tritons, sounding 
their trumpet of shells. Sometimes he is represented 
standing on a shell, with his trident, the emblem of his power, 
and accompanied by a triton. 

The places most celebrated for the worship of Neptune 
were T^enarus, Corinth, and Calabria. 

His temple, on the promontory of Tsenarium, was an 
inviolable asylum to all that fled thither for refuge. 

The games on the isthmus of Corinth, and those of the 
circus at Rome, known by the name of Consuali, were 
especially consecrated to him. During the celebration of 
these latter games, horses and asses were left at rest, and 
were dressed out with crowns. Besides the ordinary vie- 
tims, the horse and the bull were sacrificed to this god ; on 
which occasion, the aruspices, or priests, offered to hira 



NEPTUNE. 



31 



particularly the gall of the victim, which, for its bitterness, 
bore an affinity to sea-water. 

Among the appellations or names given to Neptune, was 
that of Consus, or the God of Counsel, whose altar was 
underground, because he was to be worshipped in private. 

He was also styled Hippius, or Hippodromus, because 
he was supposed by some to preside over horses and horse- 
racing ; but the word hippos, signifying a ship as well as a 
horse, he is supposed to have received this appellation on 
that account. Hence it is that the account of this deity is 
replete with legends respecting horses. Besides the horse 
Scyphius, above-mentioned, it is related of him that he 
brought the first horse, Sisyphus, out of a rock in Thessaly. 
Now Scyphius and Sisyphus, like the Greek hippos and our 
word ship, are but variations of the same original Chaldee, 
hipha or sephina, a large vessel. 

Neptune is generally admitted to have been Japhet, whose 
descendants possessed all the islands and maritime coun- 
tries. The Latin name, Neptunus, has been derived from 
nubo, to cover, because the waters embrace and cover the 
land ; but it is with greater probability derived from the 
Hebrew name of Japhet himself, which in the Syriac be- 
comes Naphet, and from thence Neptune. The Greek name, 
Poseidon, for Neptune, has been derived from posin, drink, 
and dounai, to give ; but it has been said that the Egyptians, 
to denote navigation and the return of the Phoenician fleet, 
which annually visited their coast, used the figure of an 
Osiris, borne on a winged horse, and holding a three-forked 
spear or harpoon, to which image they gave the name of 
Poseidon, from pash, plenty or provisions, and gedeim, the 
sea-coast, or the provision of the maritime country. Ad- 
mitting this to be the true derivation, the origin of the 
Greek name is sufficiently accounted for, as the Greeks 
derived all their knowledge of the arts from the Egyptians, 
and founded their mythology on what they learnt in Egypt. 



32 



PLUTO. 




CHAPTER XL 

PLUTO. 

Pluto, the son of Saturn and Cybele, and brother of 
Jupiter and Neptune, is said to have assisted Jupiter in 
his wars, and, on the termination of the contest, to have 
had the infernal dominions allotted to him, which, accord- 
ing to the general received opinion, lay in the West. 

To Pluto is ascribed the invention of honouring the dead 
with funeral obsequies, he being thought to exercise a sove- 
reignty over the dead. He not only governed the departed 
spirits below, but also could lengthen or shorten the lives 
of men here upon the earth as he thought fit. 

He is usually represented as sitting on a throne in the 
midst of darkness, sometimes holding a key in his hand 
instead of a sceptre. The Key denoted that when once the 



PLUTO. 



33 



dead were received into his kingdom, the gates were locked 
against them, and there was no regress thence into this life 
again. Sometimes, instead of a key, he holds the dog Cer- 
berus. Very often a rod is put in his hand, in the place of 
a sceptre, with which he was supposed to guide the dead to 
the regions below. 

Sometimes he is crowned with the Flowers of Narcissus, 
because he stole away Proserpine while gathering these 
flowers ; and sometimes with cypress leaves, because the 
cypress was sacred to him. Homer speaks of his helmet 
as having the quality of rendering the wearer invisible, and 
tells us that Minerva borrowed it when she fought against 
the Trojans, that she might not be discovered by Mars. 

Pluto is also represented in an ebony chariot, drawn by 
four black horses, namely Orphkeus, iETHON, Nycteus, 
and Alastor. 

It is said, that all the goddesses having refused to marry 
him, owing to the deformity of his person, and the darkness 
of his mansions, he was determined to have a wife at all 
events ; and, accordingly, ascending his chariot, he drove to 
Sicily, where he discovered Proserpine, the daughter of 
Ceres, with her companions, gathering flowers. Struck 
with her beauty, the grizzly god instantly seized her, forced 
her into his chariot, and, opening a passage through the 
earth, descended with her into the realms of night ; where 
Proserpine, in Greek Persephonia, is styled by Virgil the 
Infernal Juno, because she was supposed to be the queen of 
hell. The Greeks commonly style her Despoina, or the 
Lady. 

She is sometimes represented as sitting on a throne, on 
the left hand of Pluto. A black heifer was usually sacri- 
ficed to Proserpine. 

The Greek name of Pluto, Pluton, as well as the Latin 
name Dis, signifies wealth, and was given to him because, 
as is supposed, wealth comes from the bowels of the earth, 
where he was supposed to reside ; and because, according to 
Cicero, all the natural powers and faculties of the earth are 
under his direction, for all things proceed from the earth, 
and go to the earth. But he is to be distinguished from 
Plutus, the proper god of riches. 



84 



PLUTO. 



The name Hades, by which he is called among the 
Greeks, signifies either dark, gloomy, and melancholy, or 
else invisible ; both which epithets are appropriately applied 
to him, for he is represented as having a gloomy and stern 
visage, and seldom appearing to open view. 

He has also other appellations, as — 

Agesilaus, because he led people to the infernal regions. 

Agelastus, because he was supposed never to laugh. 

Februus, from februo, to purge by sacrifice, because 
purgations and lustrations were used at funerals ; whence the 
month of February received its appellation, because in that 
month especially the sacrifices called Februa were offered to 
him. Black bulls were the victims, and the ceremonies 
were offered up at night, on account of his aversion to the 
light. 

Orcus and Our agus, because he was said to hasten people 
to their ruin ; or, as others have supposed, because, like 
one that brings up the rear of an army, he attends at the 
last moments of his people's lives. 

Quietus, because by death he was supposed to bring rest 
to all men. 

Summanus, that is, the chief of all the infernal deities, 
the principal governor of all the ghosts and departed spirits. 
The thunder that happens at night is attributed to him; 
whence he is commonly styled the Infernal Jupiter, the 
Stygian Jupiter, the third Jupiter, as Neptune is the second 
Jupiter. 

Pluto was extremely revered both by the Greeks and 
Romans. He had a magnificent temple at Pylos. 

As Jupiter and Neptune, the brothers of Pluto, are ad- 
mitted to have represented Ham and Japhet, Pluto has, 
with equal reason, been supposed to be the same as Shem. 
The agreement between these two personages consists in 
this, that in the line of Shem, the doctrine of the immor- 
tality of the soul, and a future state of rewards and punish- 
ment, was preserved and brought fully to light ; and under 
the fiction of Pluto and the infernal regions, the same doc- 
trine was represented by the Greeks, who borrowed their 
notions from the Egyptians, and transmitted them to the 
Romans. 



-CERES. 



CHAPTER XII. 

CERES. 

Ceres, the daughter of Saturn, and Ops or Vesta, is 
said by different writers to have been born in Sicily, Attica, 
and Crete. 

She had her favourite daughter, Proserpine, by her bro- 
ther Jupiter, and another daughter, named Hira, by her 
brother Neptune, although mythologists feign that, instead 
of a daughter, she brought forth a horse. 

She was also the mother of Plutus, by Iasion, the son of 
Jupiter and Electra. Plutus was, like Pluto, the god of 
riches, and is described as blind, lame, injudicious, and 
timorous. He was esteemed blind and injudicious, otherwise 
he would not give riches to the bad, and pass over the good ; 
lame, because he confers estates on men but slowly ; timor- 
ous, because tbose who have riches are afraid of losing 
them. He is known principally as the subject of one of 
Aristophanes' comedies. Ceres was made to be the god- 
dess of fruits, who first taught the art of husbandry, and 
gave laws. Before her time men are said to have fed on 
acorns, and to have had all things in common. 

She also sent Triptolemus in her own chariot through- 
out the world, to show mankind the use of corn. This 
Triptolemus was the son of Eleusius, a native of Eleusis, 
whom she had taken under her protection, and, as the poets 
feign,, reared from a child to a man in a few days. 

This goddess is usually represented under the figure of a 
tall majestic woman, with yellow hair, surmounted by ears 
of corn ; her right hand filled with poppies and wheat, and 
her left grasping a lighted torch. 

Ceres, being the goddess of corn, her hair was yellow, 
to denote the colour of corn ; and, for the same reason, 
she is crowned with ears of corn, or carries them in her 
hand. 

She holds a lighted torch, because when Proserpine was 
stolen by Pluto, her mother Ceres, being greatly afflicted 
at her loss, and very desirous to find her again, kindled 



36 



CERES. 



torches, as they say, at Mount -ZEtna, and went with them 
throughout the world, calling on the name of Proserpine, 
until the nymph Arethusa informed her that Proserpine was 
carried by Pluto into his realms. She then, in great anger, 
h?.^tened to Jupiter, and expostulated with him on the vio- 
lence offered to her daughter. Jupiter, moved with the dis- 
tress of Ceres, promised that Proserpine should be restored 
to her, if she had not tasted any thing in hell ; but it being 
proved by Ascalaphus that she had eaten some of a pome- 
granate in Pluto's orchard, the promise could not be ful- 
filled ; and Ceres, in resentment, turned Ascalaphus into an 
owl. Jupiter, however, complied with her request so far as 
to allow that Proserpine should live half the year with her 
mother in the heavens, and the other half with her husband 
in the regions below. 

By this fable it is understood that Ceres was the earth, 
and Proserpine the seed which lies buried in the ground in 
the winter, but in the summer breaks forth and becomes 
fruit. 

Ceres is represented as carrying poppies, because Jupiter 
gave her of that plant to eat, in order to create sleep and 
forgetfulness ; thence the poppy became sacred to her. 

The principal festivals in honour of Ceres were the two 
Cerealia, the greater and the less, and the Ambarvalia. 

Ceres, the Latin name of this goddess, has been derived 
from cereo, for creo, to create, because she was supposed to 
be the ereator of fruits ; but it may, with greater reason, be 
derived immediately from the Hebrew geresch, corn. The 
Greek name Demeter is compounded of de or ge, earth, 
and meter, mother, that is, Mother of the Earth, one of her 
principal attributes. 

Ceres had many appellations, all denoting the high esti- 
mation in which she was held ; as Alma, and Altrix nostra. 
Magna Dea, &e. 



VESTA THE YOUNGER, 




CHAPTER XIII. 

VESTA THE YOUNGER, 

This goddess, who is distinguished by the epithet of the 
Younger, was the daughter of Saturn, by his wife Cybele, 
who has already been spoken of as Vesta the Elder. 

As the elder Yesta was supposed to be the same as the 
Earth, so the younger was considered the same as Fire. 

This goddess was a virgin ; and mythologists relate, that 
being a great favourite with her brother Jupiter, he promised 
to grant her whatever she should ask ; upon which she begged 
that she might always be a virgin, and have the first obla- 
tions in all sacrifices. Her request was complied with ; and 
she received the further honour from the Romans, of having 
a perpetual fire kept up in her temple. 

This fire, which was held by the Romans to be among the 
sacred pledges of the empire, was kept in her temple, not 

D 



38 



VESTA THE YOUNGER. 



upon an altar, or in the chimnies, but in earthen vessels ; 
and was tended with so much care, that if by chance it was 
extinguished, all public and private business was inter- 
rupted, and a vacation proclaimed, till they had expiated the 
unhappy prodigy with incredible pains. Though not ex- 
tinguished, it was renewed, every March, by a fresh fire 
procured from the rays of the sun. 

The vestals who tended the fire were chosen from among 
the noblest families in Rome. At first they were four in 
number, which was afterwards increased to six. 

If, by any negligence, they suffered the fire to go out, 
they were subjected to severe punishment ; and if they broke 
their vow of chastity, they were buried alive. 

In recompense for these severe laws, they had extraordi- 
nary privileges and distinctions. When they appeared 
in public, they were attended by lictors, as the kings and 
consuls were; and if on such occasions they accidentally 
met a criminal going to execution, they had the power to 
pardon him. They took precedence of all persons, where- 
ever they came, being provided with seats apart for them, 
at the amphitheatres and games. They had also a right to 
be carried in a chariot to the temple of Jupiter, which was 
an honour paid only to those of the imperial family ; and 
they were buried within the city, a privilege allowed to 
none except the greatest personages of the empire. 

Vesta was not only the goddess of fire, but was esteemed 
as the guardian of houses, and is supposed to have invented 
the art of building. 

As the goddess of fire, no statues were erected to her ; 
because, according to Ovid, that element was considered 
too subtle to admit of such a representation ; but as one 
of the household gods, presiding over houses and hearths, 
images of her were placed before the doors of the houses, 
the entrances to which were called vestibula (vestibules), 
from her. 

Vesta was more of a Roman than a Grecian deity. Her 
Xatin name, Festa, is derived immediately from the Hebrew 
Eshta, fire ; the notion of which, as an object of worship, 
the Romans, whose ancestors were confessedly of Asiatic 
origin, derived from that quarter. The Greek name, Hestia, 



MINERVA. 



39 



signifies, likewise, a hearth, and a house, as the guardian of 
which this goddess appears only to have been worshipped 
by the Greeks. 



CHAPTER XIV. 




MINERVA. 

Minerva, the goddess of Wisdom and "War, is fabled ta 
have sprung from the head of Jupiter, not a child, but a 
goddess, completely armed, as before-mentioned. 

Mycologists speak of five Minervas ; but the daughter 
of Jupiter is the only one entitled to notice. 

She is commonly represented as a beautiful woman, with 
a severe look, wearing a helmet on her head, and sometimes 
having a plume that nodded formidably in the air. In her 
right hand she either holds or brandishes a beaming lancet 



40 



MARS. 



in her left she bears a buckler, called JEgis, from its being 
covered with the skin of the goat Amalthea, by whom 
Jupiter was suckled. On her shield she carries the head of 
Medusa, one of the Gorgons, which is also sometimes to be 
seen on her breast. 

Sometimes the cock stands by her on one side, because 
he is a fighting bird ; and on the other the owl, as an em- 
blem of wisdom, because he is clear-sighted. 

She is also frequently crowned with an olive-branch, 
because she is said to have first taught the cultivation of 
that tree to the Athenians. 

The basilisk was, among other animals, sacred to her, to 
denote her extraordinary sagacity, and the dreadful effects 
of her courage. 

Minerva was so called in Latin, from mines, threats, be- 
cause of her threatening aspect ; or from minuo f to lessen, 
because war thins the people. 

In Greek, Minerva had the name of Athena, because she 
never sucked the breast of a mother ; or, as Plato says, from 
Ethenoe, compounded of ethe, morals, and noe, understand- 
ing, that is, knowing divine things. 

Minerva had many appellations, as Pallas, Tritonia, 
Ergatis, &c. ; she had also that of 

Amebros, i. e. motherless, from the nature of her birth. 

Minerva had temples erected to her, both in Greece and 
Rome ; and also many solemnities sacred to her, among 
which the Panathenaea was the most celebrated. 

The Greeks borrowed the idea of this martial goddess 
from the Egyptian Isis, who, in the sacrifices that preceded 
any military expedition undertaken by the Egyptians, ap- 
peared in a military dress. 



CHAPTER XV. 

MARS. 

Mars, the god of War, was the son of Jupiter, by Juno; 
of, as it is fabled by some, was the son of Juno alone, on her 



MARS 



41 



having touched a certain flower in the Olenian fields, which 
was pointed out to her by the goddess Flora. 

Mars is said by some to have been educated among the 
Scythians, and to have had Thero, or Fierceness, for his 
nurse ; by others, that he was entrusted by Juno to the care 
of the god Priapus. 

He is usually represented with a fierce aspect, covered 
with armour, and brandishing a spear in his right hand. He 
sits in a chariot, drawn by two horses. Discord flies before 
him in tattered garments. Clamour, Anger, Fear, and Terror 
attend him in his progress. 

His charioteer is Bellona, the goddess of war, his sister, 
or his wife. She is so called in the Latin from helium, war, 
as she is called Enyo in the Greek, from enyo, to kill. She 
is said to prepare his chariot for him, and to conduct the 
horses when he goes to fight. Her priests, called bellonarii, 
sacrificed to her in their own blood, cutting themselves, and 
running about like frantic people. The poets describe her 
as shaking a burning torch, with her hair hanging loose, 
stained and clotted with blood, and running through the 
ranks of the army, and uttering horrid shrieks and dreadful 
groans. 

Mars is said to have been the father of Tereus, and the 
Romans boasted that Romulus, the founder of their kingdom, 
was the son of Mars, by the nymph Rhea Sylvia ; an origin 
which well suited with the warlike genius of that people. 

He is called Quirinus, from curis or quiris, signifying a 
spear ; whence his son Romulus acquired the same name, 
and the Romans obtained the name of Quirites. Gradivus 
was the epithet given to Mars when he went to battle ; 
that of Quirinus when he was quiet. There were, therefore, 
two temples dedicated to him at Rome — one, in the city, to 
Mars Quirinus, the keeper of the city's peace; the other, 
without the city, to Mars Gradivus, the warrior and defender 
of the city. 

The Latin name Mars, has been derived from mares, 
males, because he presided over men in battle ; the Greek 
name Ares, either from the mischief which war occasions, 
or from silence, which is indispensible in the time of battle; 
but in all probability Mars is but a variation of Ares, which 
1x3 



42 



LATONA. 



is derived from the Egyptian Horus, who, previously to any 
military expedition, appeared at the sacrifices fully equipped 
for the battle, under the title of Haritz, signifying violent. 
By the Syrians he was called Hazis, that is, terrible in war ; 
by the Gauls, Hesus ; by the Romans and Sabines Warets, 
or Mars. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

LATONA. 

Latona was, according to mycologists, the daughter of 
Cceus the Titan, arid Phcebe, or according to Homer, of 
Saturn. She is fabled to have been exceedingly beautiful ; 
and that Jupiter having fallen in love with her, she had by 
him Apollo and Diana ; but that previous to the birth of 
these two deities, Juno becoming jealous, expelled her from 
heaven, and obliged Terra, by an oath, not to give her a 
resting-place where she might bring forth her children ; 
besides that, she set the serpent Python upon her, to per- 
secute her all over the world. 

It happened, however, at this period, that the island 
Delos, which is said to have been broken from Sicily, lay 
under water ; and not having taken the oath, was com- 
manded by Neptune to rise in the iEgean sea, and afford 
her an asylum ; whence the island was so called, because it 
became delos, visible. 

Latona, being changed by Jupiter into a quail, fled 
thither ; and from this circumstance it is said to have re- 
ceived the name of Ortygia, which in the Greek signifies a 
quail. 

Latona having recovered her shape after her arrival at 
Delos, was delivered of Diana and Apollo ; the former of 
whom, being first born, is said to have aided her mother in 
the birth of her brother, who afterwards slew the serpent 
Python. 

In consequence of these supposed events, Delos rose so 
much in the estimation of the ancients, that when Xerxes, on 
his invasion of Greece, laid waste every thing before him, he, 



APOLLO. 



43 



nevertheless, spared this island, where Latona is said to 
have taken refuge. 

The pride of Niobe, in presuming to compare herself with 
Latona, was resented by Apollo and Diana, at the request 
of their mother : and the insolence of some Lycian pea- 
sants, who refused to permit Latona to drink at a fountain 
while she was wandering in the fields, was punished immedi- 
ately, by her turning them into frogs. 

Latona shared in the honours afterwards conferred on 
her children, and had temples erected to her at Argos, 
Delos, and other places. 

The name Latona, in the Greek Leto, is derived from lan- 
thano, to lie hid, because she lay hidden in the island ; by 
which it was understood, that before the birth of Apollo and 
Diana, that is, before the production of the sun and moon, 
all things were involved in darkness. 

As to the story about the floating island, that is supposed 
to have been borrowed from the Egyptians, where, accord- 
ing to Herodotus, there was a floating island, on a broad 
lake near Buto, on which a temple was built, dedicated to 
Horus, or Apollo, and furnished with three altars. Here 
Horus was supposed to have been saved from the persecu- 
tion of Typhon, and the island, which was before stationary, 
became floating. This was, in all probability, a mode of 
representing the ark. 



CHAPTER XVIL 

APOLLO. 

Cicero says there were four deities of this name, but 
that all they did is ascribed to the son of Jupiter and Latona, 
who was born in the island whither Latona fled to escape 
the resentment of Juno. 

Homer and Hesiod make the Sun and Apollo distinct 
deities, giving them different names and parentage. Ac- 
cording to Hesiod, Hyperion, one of the Titans, married 
his sister Theia, by whom he had Helios, the sun, and Silene, 
the moon. The sun is also sometimes called Titan. But 



44 APOLLO. 

Jater writers, both among the Greeks and Romans, ascribe to 
Apollo all the attributes of the sun, making them but one 
deity, under his name, who is therefore always considered as 
God of the Sun, or the Sun himself. 




APOIXO . 



The attributes of Apollo were divination, healing, music, 
ana archery, all which refer to the sun. As the light of the 
sun shows that which is hidden, so Apollo was supposed to 
make known what was concealed. The sun, by its warmth, 
contribute* to life and health, therefore to Apollo was attri- 
buted the invention of physic. The sun, as the symbol of 
the planetary harmony, is aptly represented by Apollo, the 
inventor of music, whose lyre consisted of seven strings, 
answering to the seven planets. And as Apollo was supposed, 
by his arrows, to destroy whatever was noxious, so the sun, 
by his rays, destroys all moisture that is hurtful to vege- 
tation. 



APOLLO. 



45 



The animals sacred to Apollo were the "Wolf, Crow, 
Raven, Swan, Hawk, Cock, and Grasshopper. 

The Wolf, not only because, as poets feign, it spared his 
flocks when he was a shepherd, but, from its rapacity, it 
denoted the fury of the sun's heat j and, from its acuteness 
of sight, the gift of prophecy ascribed to him. 

The Crow and Raven, because they were supposed to fore- 
tell the weather. 

The Swan, because it was said to die singing, and, as it 
were, to predict its own death. 

The Hawk, from the boldness of its flight, and its piercing 
eyes, piercing like the rays of the sun. 

The Cock, because it announces the rising of the sun. 

The Grasshopper, because it is supposed to derive its 
birth and nurture from the sun ; also from its being a 
singing creature ; wherefore it was a custom among the 
Athenians to fasten golden grasshoppers to their hair, in 
honour of Apollo. 

The plants that were acceptable to Apollo had,in like manner, 
a reference to the sun, as the Palm, Olive, Laurel, and Juniper, 

The Palm and Olive, under whose shelter he was fabled 
to- have been born, are the natives of warm countries. 

The Laurel, which, from its hot and animating nature, 
was supposed to conduce to divination and poetic raptures. 

The Juniper, which is also of a hot nature, and is said to 
have been used by the Scythians in their mysteries. 

Apollo is said to have destroyed the Cyclops, the forgers 
of Jupiter's thunder-bolts, with his arrows, to revenge the 
death of -Esculapius, his son, whom Jupiter had killed with 
thunder. For this offence he was cast out of heaven, and 
banished to the earth, where he was compelled by distress 
to tend the flocks of Admetus, king of Thessaly. 

He raised the walls of the city of Troy by the music of 
his harp alone, as the poets feign. 

By his skill with the arrow, he killed the serpent Python, 
which was produced after Deucalion's deluge ; in comme- 
moration of which event the Pythian games were instituted. 

Midas, king of Phrygia, having foolishly decided in fa- 
vour of Pan, when he and Apollo sang together, the god, 
in revenge, clapped asses' ears on his head. Midas endea- 



46 



APOLLO. 



voured to hide his disgrace as well as he could, and besought 
his barber not to betray him ; but the barber, not being able 
to contain the secret, went and dug a hole, and putting his 
mouth to it, whispered these words, " King Midas has asses' 
ears;" then filling up the ditch, went away. The poets 
feign that the reeds which grew out of the ditch, when 
moved by the wind, uttered the very same words. 

The children of Apollo were very numerous : the most 
distinguished are jEsculapius, by Coronis, Orpheus, by 
Calliope; Phaeton, by Clymene; and Circe, a famous sor- 
ceress, by Perse. 

Of Phaeton it is fabled, that having been reproached with 
not being the son of Apollo, he went to his father to com- 
plain of the affront, and to obtain of him some indubi- 
table proof of his relationship. Apollo, in order to soothe 
him in his distress, swore by the Styx that he would grant 
him whatever he should ask; whereupon Phaeton begged 
that he might drive his chariot for one day. Apollo, fore- 
seeing the ruin of his son, repented of the promise he had 
made, when he heard the request, but was compelled, for his 
oath s sake, not to refuse him. At the same time he gave 
him every precaution, by which he might guard against the 
danger. Phaeton exultingly leaped into the chariot, and 
seized the reins ; but the horses, perceiving that he was 
Enable to manage them, ran away, and set fire both to 
lieaven and earth. Jupiter, to put an end to the conflagra- 
tion, struck Phaeton out of the chariot with his thunder, and 
cast him headlong into the river Po. His sisters, Phsethusa, 
Lampetia, and Phoebe, lamenting his death incessantly on 
the banks of the river, were turned, by the pity of the gods, 
into poplar trees. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

apollo (continued), 

Apollo was more generally received and honoured in 
the pagan world than any other deity ; his worship being so 
universal, that in every region he had temples, oracles, and 
festivals, as innumerable as his attributes. The most famous 
of his temples were those at Delphi, Actium, Mount Pala- 



APOLLO. 



47 



tine, &c. ; the principal oracles were those at Delphi, Delos, 
&c. ; the principal festivals and games, were the Pythian, 
Actian, &c. 

The usual sacrifices to Apollo were lambs, bulls, and oxen. 

All young men, when their beards grew, consecrated 
their locks in his temple, as the virgins did their girdles, in 
that of Diana. 

The appellations given to Apollo were also very numerous. 
Of these the principal are Cynthius, Delius, Delphicus, 
Pythius, &c. 

Apollo, the Latin name of this deity, is obviously derived 
from the Apollon of the Greeks, whose fictions respecting him 
were altogether adopted by the Romans, and embellished by 
their poets. The Greek name is derived either from apollyo, 
to destroy, because, as we learn from Homer, it was one of 
his offices to send contagions, or from Pol, Bel, and Baal. 

Apollo was represented in a vast variety of forms, suited 
to his various attributes, and bearing more or less affinity 
to the sun. He was usually represented by the Greeks 
under the most beautiful figure they were able to conceive : 
young, unbearded, with graceful hair, and a fair countenance, 
animated and expressive, crowned with laurel, his garments 
and sandals shining with gold. In one hand he holds a bow 
and arrows ; in the other a lyre ; sometimes a shield; and at- 
tended by the Graces. At other times he is invested in a 
long robe, and carries a lyre, and a cup of nectar, the symbol 
of his divinity. 

Because he has a threefold power — in heaven, where he is 
called Sol ; in earth, where he is named Liber Pater ; and in 
hell, where he is styled Apollo; he is sometimes painted with 
these three things : a harp, a shield, and arrows. The harp 
showed that he bore rule in heaven, where all things were 
supposed to be full of harmony; the shield denoted his office 
on earth, as the protector and preserver of all creatures ; 
the arrows betokened his authority in hell, whither all were 
sent who were struck by them. 

Sometimes he is painted with a crow and a hawk flying 
over his head, a wolf and a laurel tree on one side ; a swan 
and a cock on the other ; and under his feet, grasshoppers, 
creeping. 



4S 



DIANA. 



Of all the productions of art which have escaped the* 
ravages of time, the Apoho Belvidere is unquestionably the 
grandest. 

The Apollo of the Greeks answers to the Horns of the 
Egyptians, from whom the Greeks borrowed the idea of 
worshipping the sun, not in a direct manner, as the Asiatics 
did at first, but under the name of an ideal personage, whom 
their poets and artists set off with all the imagery which the 
most inventive fancy could devise. It does not appear, 
however, that this deity was ever intended to represent any 
real personage. 



CHAPTER XIX. 




DIANA. 

t Diana, daughter of Jupiter and Latona, and sister of 
Apollo, was born in the island of Delos. 



DIANA. 



49 



She had, like her brother, a threefold divinity, being Diana 
on earth, Luna in heaven, and Hecate in the infernal 
regions. In heaven, she was supposed to enlighten every 
thing by her rays ; on earth, to keep all wild beasts under 
her power, by her bow and arrows ; and in the infernal 
regions, to keep all the ghosts and spirits in subjection to 
her, by her power and authority. But although Diana, 
Luna, and Hecate were afterwards considered to be different 
names of the same deity, yet Hesiod described them as 
three distinct goddesses. 

Diana obtained from Jupiter, by particular request, that 
she should enjoy a perpetual virginity ; and being provided 
with a bow and arrows, she retired to the woods, attended 
by a bevy of nymphs, and became the goddess of hunting. 
She is also said to have presided over fishermen, and all in 
general who used nets for taking game. 

The ancients thought that Diana left off hunting in 
August, wherefore it was not lawful for any to hunt at that 
time ; but they crowned the dogs with garlands, and by the 
light of torches, hung up the hunting instruments near 
them. 

Diana was called Triformis and Tergemina, from her triple 
office, and also because, as the poets feign, she had three 
heads ; namely, the head of a horse on the right side, of a 
dog on the left, and a human head in the middle, whence 
she was also called Three-headed or Three-faced. In the 
opinion of some, she had the epithet of Triformis, because 
the moon has three several phases or shapes, as new moon, 
half moon, and full moon. 

Chitone or Chitonia was another appellation of Diana, 
because women after childbiith used first to sacrifice to 
Juno, and then offer to Diana their own and their chil- 
dren's clothes. 

She was named Dictynnia, not only from dyctia, nets, 
tfhich she used in hunting, but also, because Britomartis, 
the virgin, when she hunted, fell into the nets, and vowed, 
if she escaped, to build a temple to Diana; which she 
accordingly did on her escape. 

Among other things related of this goddess, her preserva- 
tion of Iphigenia is the most remarkable. Agamemnon, 



50 



DIANA. 



having killed a deer by chance in the country of Aulis, which 
belonged to Diana, the goddess was angry, and caused such a 
calm, in Taurica Chersonesus, where the Grecian fleet lay, 
that it became wind-bound, and unable to set sail for Troy ; 
when the soothsayers, being consulted, gave for answer, that 
the goddess would not be appeased by any thing less than 
the blood of Agamemnon, or those who sprung from him. 
Accordingly, Ulysses was despatched to bring away Iphi- 
genia, his daughter, under pretence of marrying her to 
Achilles ; but as the princess stood at the altar ready to 
be sacrificed, the goddess took pity on her, and substi- 
tuted a hind in her place. The story goes on to relate, 
that Iphigenia became the priestess to Diana, whose sacri^ 
fices were solemnized with blood in that part ; and when 
Orestes, her brother, was brought thither by the inhabitants 
to be sacrificed, he was known and preserved by his sister. 
This story of Iphigenia bears too strong a resemblance to 
the Bible narrative of Abraham offering up his son Isaac, to 
be purely accidental. As an embellishment of the 'fiction, 
Agamemnon's choosing his own daughter for the sacrifice, 
is taken from Jephtha's daughter. 

Among the temples dedicated to her, that at Ephesus is 
the most renowned. 

Diana, as Hecate, was accounted the inventress of en- 
chantments, so that magicians were wont to invoke her. 
Their ceremonies were performed at midnight, on the side 
of a river, under a lotus ; and when she was called seven 
times, she came to the sacrifices, which were no sooner 
finished, than several apparitions appeared, called after 
her Hecatcea, 

Diana, the Latin name for this goddess, is derived from 
the Greek dios, the name of Jupiter, signifying that she was 
by distinction the daughter of Jupiter ; or, from dies, day, 
because by her light as luna, the moon, she converts night 
into day. Her Greek name, Artemis Diana, comes from 
artemes, perfect, from her supposed spotless purity. 

Her Latin name, Luna, the moon, comes obviously from 
luceo, to shine, either because she shines by night, or shines 
by a borrowed light. The corresponding Greek name, 
Selene, is derived from selas neon, new light, because the 



DIANA. 



51 



light with which she shines, being borrowed, is always new 
light 

Hecate, which is both her Greek and Latin name in that 
character, may be derived from Hecathen, afar, because the 
moon darts her rays or arrows afar off; but with greater 
propriety from Hekaton, Greek for a hundred, because a 
hundred victims were sacrificed to her, or because by her 
edict, those who die and are not buried, wander an hundred 
years up and down hill. 

Diana, in her proper character as a huntress, was usually 
represented under the figure of a very tall and beautiful 
woman, in a hunting dress, having her hair collected in a 
knot on her head, the skin of a deer fastened to her breast, 
a bow in her hand, a quiver suspended over her shoulders, 
her legs bare, and buskins on her feet, frequently in a run- 
ning attitude, attended by her nymphs and dogs. 

As Luna, she has a crescent on her head, and sometimes 
she is drawn in a silver chariot, with a white and black 
horse or two white horses, which some change to mules, be- 
cause that animal is barren, and serves to denote that she 
shines by a light not her own ; others to oxen, to denote the 
lunar horns. The poets attribute to her a party-coloured 
garment, to denote her various aspects. Sometimes she is 
covered with a veil, to denote her eclipses. 

As Hecate, Diana was represented as excessively tall, 
her head covered with frightful snakes, and her feet of a 
serpentine form, surrounded with dogs, which animals were 
sacred to her ; wherefore she is said to have been represented 
under the figure of a dog. 

Diana, as the goddess of the chase, appears to have been 
purely the fiction of the Greeks, which was adopted by the 
Romans. In the character of Luna, the moon, she is to be 
found in the Isis of the Egyptians ; and in that of Hecate, 
she bears an affinity to the Astarte of the Phoenicians. 



52 



MERCURY. 



CHAPTER XX. 

MERCURY. 

Mythologists enumerate several deities of this name : 
but the Mercury most generally acknowledged, and to whom 
the ancients ascribed the attributes of all the rest, was the 
offspring of Jupiter and Maia, the daughter of Atlas, and 
granddaughter of Japetus, one of the Titans. They say that 
J uno suckled him for a time, and the galaxy or milky way, 
the white stream in the heavens, is ascribed to the milk of 
that goddess, which is said to have run from the mouth of 
the suckling. 

Mercury had many offices : the first and chief of which 
was to carry the commands of Jupiter, whence he is com- 
monly styled the messenger of the gods. 

He likewise swept the room where the gods supped, and 
made the beds, besides other menial employments ; whence 
he was styled Camillas, that is, an inferior servant of the 
gods ; and all boys and girls were, for a similar reason, 
called camilli or camillce. In Bceotia, the name of Cadmillus 
was given to those who attended the priests at their sacri- 
fices, from the Arabic chadam, to serve, or, as is supposed, 
from the Phoenician word chadmel, god's servant. 

Mercury also attended upon dying persons, to unloose 
their souls from the chains of the body, and to conduct 
them to the realms below ; whence he was called Hegemo- 
nius, the guide or conductor. He likewise revived and put 
into new bodies those souls which had completed their full 
time in the Elysian Fields, of all which we may read in 
Virgil. 

- He is also supposed to have taught the arts of buying, 
selling, and trafficking ; whence he is accounted the god 
of merchants and the god of gain. 

In the art of thieving, he was reputed to excel pro- 
digiously. The very day in which he was born, he stoie 
away some cattle from king Admetus, while guarded by 
Apollo; and when this deity was going to resent the theft, 
he found that his arrows had been stolen from him by the 



MERCURY. 



53 



same thief. Being taken up by Vulcan into his arms 
while yet an infant, he stole his tools from him ; and whilst 
Venus caressed him for his superiority to Cupid in wrestling, 
he stole hercestus. From Jupiter he purloined his sceptre, 
and would have made free with his thunderbolt had it not 
proved too hot for his fingers. 

The ancients used to paint him on their doors, that he, 
the god of thieves, might prevent the intrusion of others. 

Mercury, in conjunction with Hercules, patronized 
wrestling and the gymnastic exercises, to shew that address 
upon these occasions should always be united with force. 

The Greeks and Romans considered Mercury as pre- 
siding over highways and doors; whence he was styled 
Strophceus, the guardian of doors, For that reason, they 
erected busts to him, which the Greeks called after him, 
Hermes, and the Latins, Indices, because with an arm or 
finger they pointed the way to places. 

The Romans set these statues over their tombs ; at first, 
says Cicero, from the notion of his being the guide and 
companion of the deceased to the regions below. The 
Athenians planted them at their doors, to keep away thieves. 
This was a species of stone-worship before mentioned. 

The Romans used to join the statues of Mercury and 
Minerva together, which they called Hermatlience ; and 
sacrificed to both deities upon one and the same altar. 
Those who had escaped any great danger, always offered 
sacrifices to Mercury ; namely, a calf, milk and honey ; but 
especially the tongues of the victims, which, with a great 
deal of ceremony, they cast into the fire, and with that the 
sacrifice was ended, — a custom taken from the Megarenses. 

There was a temple erected to Mercury at Rome, near 
the gate Capena, and another fronting the grand circus ; 
which latter was built in consequence of a vow offered for 
the extinction of the fires, when the city was burning for 
nine days together in the time of Nero. 

The chief festival of Mercury amongst the Greeks was 
the Hermaia. The animals sacred to him were the dog, 
goat and cock. 

Mercury is usually represented as a young man with a 
cheerful countenance and lively eyes, and nimbleness of 
e3 



54 



BACCHUS. 



person, wearing a winged cap called a petasus, with wings 
to his feet called talaria, and holding his wand or caduceus 
in his hand, — all attributes adapted to him in his character 
as messenger of the gods. 

Mercurius, the Latin name of this deity, is derived from 
the Celtic mere, merchandize, which shews, that in this 
character the Romans borrowed their notions in a direct 
channel from the Phoenicians, a trading people of antiquity. 
The Greek name, Hermes, which signifies interpretation, 
refers to his attribute as the god of eloquence, — a character 
which they doubtless borrowed from the Egyptians. 



CHAPTER XXI. 




BACCHUS. 



Cicero mentions five deities of this name ; two of whom 
he makes the sons of Jupiter. The Bacchus so celebrated 



BACCHUS. 



55 



in the Grecian and Roman mythology, is said to have been 
the son of Jupiter by Semele, the daughter of Cadmus, 
king of Thebes, who was consumed by the lightning of 
Jupiter ; but the child was saved from her ashes. 

Others relate that Mercury carried the child to Nyssa, a 
city of Arabia, where the Nymphs undertook the charge of 
bringing him up ; and by others, the Horae are said to have 
performed this office. 

It is fabled that in his youth, having been seized by a 
party of Tyrrhenian pirates whilst asleep on the shores of 
Naxos, they attempted to convey him away ; and that he 
suddenly assuming a monstrous shape, they sought to escape, 
but perceiving vines about their masts, and ivy on their 
oars, they rushed into the sea, and were all changed into 
dolphins. 

As a conqueror, Bacchus is said to have subdued India, 
Egypt, Syria, Phrygia, and all the East ; and after his re- 
turn from the victorious expedition, to have devoted him- 
self to the cares of government. By reforming abuses and 
enacting good laws, he so consulted the happiness of his 
people, that he obtained, the title of Thesmophorus, or the 
lawgiver, and was deified after his death. 

Bacchus was distinguished by a number of appellations. 
Among others he was called Bimater, or Bimeter, because 
he is said to have had two mothers, namely Semele, and 
also Jupiter, in whose thigh he was brought to maturity. 
He was also styled Liber or Liber-Pater, Dcemon-bonus, 
Lyteus, &c. Among the many festivals in honour of 
Bacchus, the Dionysia or Bacchanalia were the most dis- 
tinguished. 

The victims supposed to be agreeable to Bacchus were 
the goat and swine, because these animals are destructive 
to the vine. The Egyptians are said to have sacrificed 
swine to him before their doors. The dragon and the pye 
were also sacred to him, as denoting the talkativeness of 
drunken people. 

The trees consecrated to Bacchus were the fir, ivy, bind- 
weed, fig, and vine ; as also the daffodil or narcissus. 

Bacchus had many temples erected to him, both by the 
Greeks and Romans. 



56 



BACCHUS. 



CHAPTER XXII. 
Bacchus (continued). 

Bacchus was esteemed to be the god of good cheer and 
jollity, in which character he is much praised by the poets, 
who constantly invoked his presence as their inspirer, and 
thanked him for the gifts he bestowed : and as music is the 
natural accompaniment of every festivity, it is not surpris- 
ing to find the invention of music, farces, and theatrical 
exhibitions ascribed to him, more especially as it is admitted 
that such exhibitions were first introduced upon the festi- 
vals celebrated in honour of him. 

Bacchus is variously represented according to his cha- 
racter. His more frequent representations are under the 
figure of a beardless youth, of a plump figure, and naked, 
with horns and a ruddy face, sitting in an effeminate pos- 
ture. He is crowned with ivy and vine-leaves, carrying in 
his hand a thyrsus or javelin, with an iron head, encircled 
with ivy and vine-leaves. His chariot is sometimes drawn 
by lions, at other times by tigers, leopards, or panthers, 
and surrounded by a band of satyrs, bacchse, and nymphs 
in frantic postures ; whilst old Silenus, his preceptor, follows 
on his ass, which crouches with the weight of his burthen. 
Sometimes, instead of a young man, he is painted as an old 
man, with a beard. All these are symbols of Bacchus, as 
the god of wine. 

He is both a young and an old man ; because wine 
taken in moderation gives strength, but taken in excess 
destroys it. He is represented as effeminate, because 
excessive indulgence enervates. He is naked ; for so is he 
who has lost his senses by drinking. He carries a thyrsus 
instead of a sceptre, to denote that he subdues the hearts of 
men by wine. He has horns, as some think, becatise the 
drinking- cup was made of horn, or because drunkenness 
and lust frequently go together. He is drawn by wild 
beasts, to denote the fury which wine inspires ; and is 
accompanied by satyrs and other obscene deities, as most 
befitting this character. 



BACCHUS, 



57 



Bacchus, as a conqueror, is exhibited at full age, with a 
beard, a head crowned with ivy, and wearing a syrma, or 
long triumphal robe. 

As the god of wine, he appears to have been the creature 
of the licentious fancy of the Greek poets and mythologists, 
whose legends respecting him were adopted and embellished 
by the Roman writers. As a conqueror and lawgiver his 
prototype is to be found in the Egyptian Osiris, of whom 
there will be occasion to speak more at large hereafter. 
The Greeks borrowed their notions of him in this character 
immediately from the Egyptians ; but although the Romans 
may have also drawn from the same source, yet they did so 
in all probability through a different channel. The name 
Bacchus might seem, from the similarity of the words and 
the affinity in the sense, to have come from the Greek word 
bacchos, fury, such as the priestesses of Bacchus were pos- 
sessed with in celebrating his ceremonies ; but considering 
the historical affinity between Bacchus and the Nimrod of 
Scripture, it seems most reasonable to derive it from the 
Hebrew words, Bar and Cush, or Barchus, the son of Cush. 

Dionysus, the Greek name of this deity, is, as usual, 
derived from the Greek dios, Jupiter, and nusso, to lay 
open, because the thigh of Jupiter, according to the fable, 
was laid open when Bacchus was brought forth. 

Mythologists borrowed more from the Bible respecting 
this deity than any other. 

Homer says that Bacchus wrestled with Pallene, to whom 
he yielded ; a fable obviously taken from the account of the 
angel wrestling with Jacob. 

Pausanius relates, that the Greeks at Troy found an ark 
which was sacred to Bacchus ; and that Euripilus, having 
opened it, and viewed the statue of Bacchus therein, was 
immediately struck with madness. And in the second book 
of Kings, we read that the Bethshemites were destroyed by 
God, because they looked with too much curiosity into the 
Ark of the Covenant. 

There are many coincidences in the account of Bacchus 
with what is related, of two persons in Scripture, namely, 
Nimrod and Moses. Bacchus is sometimes called Nebrodes, 
-which bears a strong affinity to Nimrodus, 



58 



BACCHUS. 



Bacchus is described as in a chariot drawn by tigers, ard 
himself clothed in a tiger's skin; and the Hebrew name 
Nimrod alludes to, if it be not absolutely derived from, the 
Hebrew namur, a tiger. 

The sacred historian styles Nimrod a mighty hunter ; and 
Bacchus is styled in the Greek Zagreus, which signifies 
the same thing. 

Bacchus is celebrated as the planter of vines ; and Baby- 
lon, the kingdom of which was established by Nimrod, is 
famous for its wines. 

The coincidences in the accounts of Bacchus and Moses 
are still more striking. Bacchus is fabled by some to have 
been born in Egypt, shut up in an ark, and thrown upon 
the waters, as Moses was. 

Bacchus is surnamed Bimater, that is, having two mothers ; 
and Moses had, besides his natural mother, another mother 
by adoption, in Pharaoh's daughter. 

Orpheus styles Bacchus a lawgiver, and expressly calls him 
Moses, to whom he attributes the two Tables of the Law. 

Bacchus is described as a beautiful man, having women 
in his army ; a similar account is given of the person of 
Moses, who, on his leaving Egypt, had also women in his 
train. 

Bacchus is sometimes represented with two horns, and 
called on that account Bicornis ; and the face of Moses 
appeared double horned, when he came down from the 
mountain, after having talked with the Almighty ; the rays 
of glory that darted from his brow resembling two horns in 
figure. 

Serpents were sacrificed to Bacchus, and a dog given to 
him as a companion. Moses turned his rod into a serpent, 
and had Caleb, which in the Hebrew signifies a dog, as his 
companion. 

The Bacchae are said to have brought water from a rock 
by striking it with a thyrsus ; and the country wherever 
they came is described as flowing with wine, milk and honey, 
which is the precise description of the land of Canaan, into 
which Moses conducted the Israelites. 

Bacchus is fabled to have dried up the rivers Orontes 
and Hydaspes, by striking them with his thyisus, and to 



VULCAN. 



59 



have passed through them, which is a fabulous account of 
the passage of Moses through the Red Sea. 

It is said also, that a little ivy stick, thrown down by one 
of the Bacchae upon the ground, crept like a dragon, and 
twisted itself about an oak, which is another allusion to the 
rod of Moses. 

It is feigned that the Indians once were all covered with 
darkness, whilst these Bacchae enjoyed a perfect day ; which 
evidently refers to the plague of darkness that befel the 
Egyptians, 

CHAPTER XXIII. 




VULCAN. 

There were several deities of this name ; but the Vulcan 
here spoken of is thought by some to have been the son of 
Jupiter and Juno; by others, to have been the offspring 
of Juno only, as Minerva was of Jupiter only. 



60 



VULCAN»_ 



Mycologists describe him as a god remarkable for his 
deformity, who, as some think, was expelled from heaven 
on that account ; but others relate, that having taken pity 
on his mother, Juno, when she was suspended by Jupiter in 
the air, and released her from her awkward situation, he 
exasperated Jupiter so much that he kicked him out of hea- 
ven. The story goes, that he was nine days in falling from 
heaven to the earth, and that he lighted with such force on 
the island of Lemnos as to break his leg, which caused him 
to be lame ever after. 

This island was assigned to Vulcan as his residence and 
workshop, because it abounded in artificers of metals ; but he 
is said to have removed to the Liparian islands, near Sicily, 
because the burning mountain was most suited to his calling 
as the forger of Jupiter's thunderbolts. The poets feign 
that he was the artificer of heaven ; that he constructed the 
golden chambers in which each of the superior deities was 
supposed to reside. Homer gives a glowing description of 
the shield which he made for Achilles, being enamelled with 
metals of various colours, and containing not less than 
twelve historical designs. We are also told that the seats 
which he constructed for the gods were so contrived, that 
they moved of themselves to the place where each god 
seated himself at the table when any council was to be held. 

The story of his making the first woman, Pandora, will 
be spoken of hereafter. 

Vulcan, though described as remarkably ugly, is, never- 
theless, said to have been the husband of Venus, the god- 
dess of beauty ; under which fable it is understood, that 
between the gross fire of love, which is represented by Vul- 
can, and the pure flame of love, represented by Venus, there 
is an intimate connexion, which is aptly represented by the 
union of these two deities. 

The principal solemnities of Vulcan were the Chalcea, 
Protervia, Hephcestia, Lampadophoria, and Vulcanalia, or 
Vulcania. His sacrifice was a lion, to denote the fury of 
fire. 

He had, like the other gods, many appellations, as 2Et- 
nceus, Lemnius, &c. 

The servants of Vulcan, who helped him in making the 



VENUS. 



61 



hunderbolts, were the Cyclops, so called from cyclus, 
a circle, and ops, an eye, because they had but one eye in 
their forehead. 

Vulcan is usually represented as a lame, deformed and 
squalid man, with a beard and hair neglected, half naked, 
and having a round peaked cap on his head, a hammer in 
.lis right hand, and a smith's tongs in his left, working at 
the anvil, and usually attended by the Cyclops, or by some 
of the gods or goddesses, for whom he was supposed to be 
working. 

The Latin name of this deity, Vulcanus, as well as his 
office, clearly shew that he was intended to represent the 
Tubal-Cain of Scripture, the tradition of whom was without 
doubt carried by the first settlers into Italy, and handed 
down to the Romans. The Greek name, Hephcestus, is as 
usual derived from the Greek apio, to burn, denoting that 
he was the god of tire, of whom they borrowed their idea 
from the Egyptians. Historians inform us, that the proto- 
type of the Grecian Vulcan was a king of Egypt, who was 
deified after his death, and add that Menes erected a noble 
temple to him. The Phoenicians are said to have wor- 
shipped him under the name of Chrysor, whom they made 
to be the author of lightnings and fiery exhalations. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

VENUS. 

"We learn from several authors, that there were four 
deities of this name : the first, the daughter of Ccelus; the 
second, the Venus Aphrodite, who sprang from the froth of 
the sea ; the third, the daughter of Jupiter, by Dione ; and 
the fourth, the Astarte, or the Syrian Venus, otherwise 
called by the Greeks and Romans, Venus Urania, or Ccelestis. 
The daughter of Jupiter is the one who is most known as 
the goddess of beauty, to whom are ascribed the attributes 
of the others. 

F 



62 



VENUS. 



As soon as Venus was born, she is said to have been laid 
in a beautiful conch or shell, embellished with pearls ; and, 
by the assistance of Zephyrus, wafted first to Cytherea, an 
island in the iEgean sea, and thence to Cyprus, where she 



arrived in the month of April. Here, as the poets feign, 
immediately on her landing, flowers sprung up beneath her 
feet ; the Horae, or Seasons, awaited her arrival ; and having 
braided her hair with fillets of gold, she was thence wafted 
to heaven, where her laughing countenance, coupled with 
her extraordinary beauty, won the hearts of all the gods, 
who desired to obtain her in marriage ; but by a fiction, 
not very poetic, she was at length joined to the ugly god, 
Vulcan, who, by her faithless tricks, became an object of 
derision among the celestials. 

As Venus was the goddess of love, so was Cupid con- 
sidered the god of love, by whose aid she inspired mortals 




VENUS. 



VENUS. 



63 



with this passion. He is commonly described as her son, 
or companion. 

As the goddess of love, both pure and impure, many 
stories are told of her power, and the disorders which she 
was supposed to produce. Among these, the most cele- 
brated is the story of Pyramus and Thisbe. 

Pyramus and Thisbe were both inhabitants of the city 
of Babylon, equal in beauty, age, condition and fortune. 
Their parents lived next door to each other ; and they 
having grown up together, and been playfellows from their 
infancy, contracted a mutual passion, which, owing to the 
quarrels that had taken place between their parents, they 
were not at liberty openly to gratify. Although debarred 
each other's society, they found means to communicate 
with each other through a small chink in the wall, that was 
unknown to both the families ; and in this manner, from 
day to day, they told out to each other the tender emotions 
that filled their bosoms ; until at length they determined 
on having an interview, at which they might see as well as 
hear each other ; and for that purpose, agreed on meeting 
by night in a neighbouring wood, under the shade of a large 
mulberry-tree that stood close to a fountain. When night 
came, Thisbe, eluding the vigilance of her attendants, flew 
into the wood, for love had given her wings, and arrived 
first at the appointed place. At that moment, a lioness 
fresh from the slaughter of some cattle, came to drink at 
the fountain, which so terrified Thisbe, that she ran into a 
cave that was hard by ; but in her fright, she let fall her 
veil from her head, which the lioness, on her return from 
the fountain, found, and tearing it, left it all besmeared 
with blood. Soon after this, Pyramus came to the spot, 
and seeing the veil of Thisbe bloody and torn, imagined 
she was devoured by the wild beast ; and after a fruitless 
search for her, he threw himself on his sword and died. 
Thisbe in the mean time recovered from her fright; and 
when she supposed the lioness was gone, she came forth, 
and near the mulberry-tree she beheld, with mingled terror 
and amazement, the body of a man lying on the ground, 
whom she recognised to be her Pyramus ; and in his hand 
she discovered her veil, which explained to her the occasion 



64 



VENUS, 



of his death. Distracted with grief, she threw herself on 
the body of her lover, and calling aloud and repeatedly on 
his name, implored him, if possible, to give her one word 
by way of answer ; but Pyramus was speechless, and could 
only cast upon her one dying look; upon which she drew the 
sword from his body and plunged it into her own bosom. 

Venus had numerous temples ; those at Paphos and 
Idalia in Cyprus, Eryx in Sicily, and Cnidos in Caria, were 
the principal. 

Venus being the goddess of pleasure as well as of beauty, 
she was worshipped in many places by very impure rites, 
particularly in her temple at Corinth. The sacrifices 
usually offered to her were white goats and swine, with 
libations of wine, milk, and honey. The victims were 
crowned with flowers or wreaths of myrtle, the rose and 
myrtle being sacred to Venus. Among the birds, the swan, 
the dove, and the sparrow were sacred to her. 

Among the appellations of Venus, were Marina, or Ana- 
dyomene, Cyther^ea,- Ridens, Paphia, &c. 

The proper Latin name of this goddess is derived from 
venio, to come, because she was supposed to be easy of 
access. Her Greek name Aphrodite, from aphros, the foam 
of the sea, was given to her in allusion to the supposed 
circumstance of her birth, which has been before men- 
tioned. 

As the goddess of beauty, Venus was properly the in- 
vention of the Greek poets and mythologists, from whom 
she was adopted by the Romans. As the impure Venus, or 
the goddess of love and pleasure, she had a prototype in 
the Assyrian goddess Astarte, who, by the Greeks, was 
also worshipped under the name of Urania, and by the 
Romans under that of Venus Coelestis. 

She is frequently represented borne on a shell, sporting 
on the waves of the ocean, sometimes clothed in a purple 
mantle and glittering with diamonds, surrounded by 
cupids, nereids, and dolphins. "When she traverses the 
heavens, her chariot, made of ivory and beautifully carved, 
is drawn by doves, swans, or swallows, accompanied by 
Cupid and the Graces, sometimes with a train of little loves 
or cupids. She is clothed in a light and airy manner, 



THE GRACES. 



65 



and wears round her waist the famous Cestus or girdle, 
which was said to have this property, — that whatever female 
wore it would become lovely in the eyes of him whom she 
wished to please. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

THE GRACES. 

The Graces were three sisters, so called in Latin, from 
gratia, kindness, or gratus, pleasant ; and in Greek, charites, 
from charts, a kindness, or charas, rejoicing. They are 
said by Hesiod to have been the daughters of Jupiter and 
Eurynome, or Eunomia, one of the Oceanides, or as others 
rather say, of Bacchus and Venus. 

The first was called Aglaia, i. e. brightness, dignity, 
and integrity, from her cheerfulness, beauty, or worth ; 
because kindness ought to be performed freely and cheer- 
fully. The second, Thalia, from thallo, to flourish, from 
the perpetual bloom of youth ; because kindnesses ought 
never to die, but to remain always fresh in the receiver's 
memory. The third, Euphrosyne, which signifies gladness 
and urbanity, from her hilarity, because we ought to be 
cheerful as well in doing as in receiving a kindness. 

These sisters were painted naked, (or in transparent and 
loose garments,) young and merry, and all virgins, with 
hands joined. One was turned from the beholder, as if she 
was going from him ; the other two turned their faces, as if 
they were coming to him : whereby it was understood, 
according to Seneca, that every benefit received should be 
twice thanked, — once when we receive it, and again when 
it is returned. They are naked, because kindnesses ought 
to be done in sincerity, and without any latent purpose. 
They are young, because the memory of kindnesses re- 
ceived ought never to grow old. They are virgins, because 
kindnesses ought to be given without expecting a return. 
Their hands are joined, because one good turn deserves 
another ; and between friends kindnesses should be reci- 
procal. 

f 3 



THE MUSES. 



At first, their only images were rude stones ; but after- 
wards they were invested with human forms, and for some 
time were also clothed. Statues and pictures of them by 
Bupalus, Apelles, Pythagorus, and Socrates, represented 
them as clothed. Pausanias says : — In a temple dedicated to 
them by the Eleans, were placed their figures made of wood, 
and invested with garments of gold. The faces, hands, and 
feet were of white marble : one held a rose, another a die, 
and the third a sprig of myrtle. 

Eteocles, king of the Orchomenians, is said to have been 
the first who dedicated a temple to them ; having, as is 
fabled, frequented this country for the sake of bathing in the 
fountain Acidalius. Festivals were celebrated in honour of 
them throughout the whole year ; but the vernal season was 
principally consecrated to them. 

The ancients were accustomed at their repasts to invoke 
them as well as the Muses. In the former case they did it 
with three glasses, and in the latter with nine. 

The Graces were said to be the companions of Venus, 
Mercury, and the Muses ; but particularly of the first. 

The Graces were deities of purely Grecian invention, who 
were afterwards adopted, and their story embellished by the 
Ptomans. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 



THE MUSES. 

The Muses, the mistresses of all the sciences, by whom 
musicians and poets were inspired, and who presided at all 
festivals, are said to have been the daughters of Jupiter, by 
Mnemosyne, i. e. Memory ; although others think that they 
Were older than Jupiter, and make Ccelus their father. They 
are said to have been born on Mount Pierus, and to have 
been educated by Eupheme. 

They were nine in number, namely, Calliope, Clio, 



THE MUSES. 



67 



Erato, Thalia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Euterpe, 
Polyhymnia, and Urania. 

Calliope, from kalos, sweet, and ops, the voice, presided 
over rhetoric, and was esteemed the superior of all. 

Clio, from kleos, glory, because she was the historical 
muse, who sung of deeds of glory. 

Erato, from eros, love, because songs of love are as- 
cribed to her. She is also called Saltatrix ; because she 
first invented the art of dancing. 

Thalia, from thallo, to flourish, because lively songs are 
ascribed to her, as also the invention of comedy. 

Melpomene, from melpomai, to modulate, was distin- 
guished for the melody of her song, and was esteemed the 
inventor of tragedy and sonnets. 

Terpsichore, from terpo, to delight, and choros, dancing, 
was so called from her delighting in balls. She was also 
called Cytharistria, 

Euterpe, from euterpes, a pleasant singer, was so called 
from her singing sweetly. She was also called Tibicina, 
from her presiding over the pipe ; and to her is ascribed by 
.some the invention of singing. 

Polyhymnia, or Polymnia, from polys, much, and mnia, 
memory, was so called from the strength of her memory : 
wherefore to her is ascribed the invention of writing 
history. It was owing to her, as Plutarch tells us, that 
songsters gave to the verses they sing hands and feet, which 
speak more than tongues ; an expressive silence — language 
without words — in short, gesture and action. 

Urania, from uranus, heaven, because she is supposed to 
sing of divine things ; as, because through her assistance 
men are exalted by praises to the skies, or, by her help, 
they become conversant with celestial things. 

The Muses had several names in common. Their gene- 
ral appellation of Muses, originally Mosce, is derived from a 
Greek word signifying to inquire, because men, by inquiring 
of them were supposed to learn that of which they were 
ignorant ; but others say that they had their name from their 
resemblance, omusce, signifying alike, because there is an 
affinity between the sciences in which they agree together, 
and are united with each other. For that reason they are 



68 



THE FURIES AND FATES, 



often painted with their hands joined, dancing in a ring, 
Apollo, their leader, sitting in the middle. 

The Muses had several other names in common, as Heli- 
conides, Parnassides, Citherides, Pierides. 

The Muses were represented crowned with flowers, or 
wreaths of palm, each holding some instrument or emblem 
of the science or art over which she presided. They were 
depicted as in the bloom of youth ; and the bird sacred to 
them was the swan, because that bird was consecrated to 
their leader, Apollo. 

They are often to be met with on tombs ; sometimes the 
whole choir, with some other deity in the midst of them, 
that had some relation to them ; sometimes Apollo, some- 
times Minerva, and sometimes the Hercules Musarum. They 
are exhibited on those occasions with a great variety of atti- 
tude, action, and demeanour, suitable to each. 

The Muses were altogether of Greek invention ; but they 
are said to have borrowed the idea from theEgyptians, who, to 
denote the nine months in the year, during which they were 
freed from the inundation of theNile, gave to each month some 
symbol or instrument peculiar to the business of the month. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

THE FURIES AND FATES. 

The Furies were the daughters either of Nox, or Ache- 
ron, or of Terra, and the blood of Saturn, or of the Earth 
and Darkness, or of Eris (contention), or of the Terres- 
trial Jupiter. Hesiod makes them to be the sisters of the 
giants who warred against heaven, being, like them, sprung 
from the blood of Saturn. 

They were called by the Romans Furia, on earth, because 
they were supposed to make men mad by the stings of con- 
science, which guilt produces. Diree, in heaven, that is, as 
it were, Deorum ires, the anger of the gods, because they 
were attendant upon Jupiter, and were the ministers of his 
vengeance. "Virgil also called them Stygian dogs, because 



THE FURIES AND FATES 



6? 



their residence was in the infernal regions. By the Greeks 
they were called Erynnyes, from erynnyo, fury ; and also 
Eumenides, from eumeneis, benevolent or propitious, because 
they were not inexorable to such as supplicated them, as in 
the instance of Orestes, the son of Agamemnon, who, after 
killing his mother, Clytemnestra, and her gallant, ~-Egis- 
theus, in revenge for the murder of his father, is said to 
have been haunted by the Furies until he expiated his offence 
in the temple of Diana Taurica, in the Chersonesus. 

The Furies were three in number, namely, Alecto, that is, 
incessant; Megdra, that is, envy; and Tisiphoxe. that is, 
revenge. Some add a fourth fury, that is, Lyssa, signifying 
rage ; but three is the general number. Mythologists assigned 
to each of them their proper office : Alecto, to punish the 
crimes of ambition and lust; Megsera, those of envy; and 
Tisiphone, those of revenge. 

The Furies were the most deformed and horrible of all 
the Grecian deities : instead of hair, they are described as 
having snakes depending from their heads, which lashed 
their necks and shoulders : their eyes bloodshot and flam- 
ing ; carrying chains and whips, or sometimes scorpions in 
one hand, and lighted torches in the other. Their garments 
were of a rusty black, stained with blood, and hanging 
Joose and tattered about their bony forms. As the bearers 
of celestial vengeance, they carried with them TTar, Pesti- 
lence, and Famine — having Terror, Rage, Paleness, and 
Death in their train. 

The Greeks regarded these deities with such awe, that 
dazed scarcely pronounce their names : and when they 
passed by their temples, they turned their faces another 
^way, lest the hi of the edifices should blast them. 

Orestes is said to have dedicated a temple to them in 
Cyrenea, a town of Arcadia. A temple was also erected to 
them at Athens, near the Areopagus, the priests of which 
were chosen from the judges of that court; they had also a 
temple at Carmia, iu Peloponnesus. 

Tr.e highest solemnities in honour of the Furies were per- 
formed at Telphusia, in Arcadia, where their priestesses 
went by the name of Hesichiodae, and the sacrifices were 
d at midnight, amidst the profoundest silence. A preg- 



70 



THE FURIES AND FATES. 



nant black ewe, burnt whole, was the victim. No wine was 
used in their libations ; only limpid water, or a liquid made 
of honey. The wreaths or garlands used on such occasions 
were formed of the daffodil and crocus intermixed. 

The Fates were also three in number, because all things 
were supposed to have a beginning, progress, and end. 
Fatum, fate, was so called in Latin from /or, to speak or de- 
cree ; because in the opinion of the Romans, that which was 
decreed by the gods would come to pass. The Greek name, 
Eimarmene, signified literally that which was decreed by God. 

These deities were called in Latin by the general name 
of Parcce, as Varro thought, because they were supposed to 
distribute good and bad to people, partu, at their birth ; 
but the more generally received opinion is, that they were 
so called from parco, to spare ; because, by a figure of 
speech called antiphasis, they spared nobody. The Greek 
name, mocrce, from meiro, to distribute or dispense, signified 
properly the dispensers of things to men. 

The Fates are variously described as the daughters of 
Nox and Erebus, or Necessity, or of Oceanus, or of Chaos; 
but more generally of Jupiter and Themis. Their office 
was to manage the fatal thread of life ; and their names of 
Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, among the Greeks, and 
Nona, Decima, and Morta, among the Romans, had a 
reference to their office. 

Clotho was so called from clotho, to weave ; because she 
was supposed to draw the thread of life, and to bring 
people into the world. 

Lachesis, from lanchano, to allot, was supposed to turn 
the wheel. 

Atropos, from trepo, to turn, signifying what could not be 
averted — cut the thread when it was spun, with a pair of 
scissors ; that is, Clotho gave life, Lachesis determined the 
fortune of life, and Atropos concluded life. 

The Latin name, Nona, ninth, denoted the time of birth, 
namely, the ninth month. 

Decima, tenth, from the practice of decimation in the Ro- 
man army, when, for any offence committed by any number, 
lots were drawn which out of every tenth man should be 
put to death, denotes the fortune or lot of man. 



NOX, MORS, AND SOMNUS. 



71 



Morta, from mors, death, explains its own meaning. They 
were likewise described as one speaking, the other writing, 
and the third drawing the thread. 

The Fates are variously represented ; sometimes as old 
women, one holding a distaff, another a wheel, and a third 
a pair of scissors, in robes of white, bordered with purple, 
seated on thrones, with chaplets on their heads, composed 
of the flower of Narcissus, or rose-coloured veils on their 
heads, fastened with white vitta or ribands. Sometimes 
Clotho is represented in a robe of various colours, with a 
crown of stars upon her head; Lachesis, in a garment 
covered with stars ; and Atropos in black. They are fre- 
quently found represented at the death of Meleager, before- 
mentioned, when they appear as beautiful virgins. They 
are described as having been present at his birth, when 
Clotho granted to him that he should be the most cou- 
rageous of mankind ; Lachesis, that he should excel all 
others in feats of activity. Atropos, snatching a brand out 
of the fire, declared that he should live as long as that 
billet remained unconsumed. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 




SOiEVOS. 

NOX, MORS, AND SCMNUS. 

Nox, Night, was said by some to be the oldest of all the 
gods ; but by others to have been the daughter of Chaos, 



72 



NOX, MORS, AND SOMNUS. 



and sister of Erebus. Orpheus ascribes to her the gene- 
ration of gods and men ; and says, that all things had their 
beginning from her. She had, according to some, a nu- 
merous offspring — as the Furies, Death, Sleep. Dreams, 
and Discord, which she conceived without a father. She 
afterwards married her brother Erebus, by whom she is said 
to have had Old Age, Labour, Fear, Deceit, Emula- 
tion, and in short all the evils which attend human life. 
The sacrifice offered to Nox was a cock, because of its 
enmity to darkness. 

Mors, Death, was looked upon as a powerful minister, 
who carried all things down to Acheron. Her mother is 
said to have bestowed much care on her education. !No 
sacrifices, no temples, nor priests were consecrated to 
her ; because, as Horace says, she was a goddess whom 
no prayer could change, nor sacrifices pacify. The poets 
describe Death as ravenous, treacherous, and furious. 

Somnus, Sleep, is the twin brother of Death, who was said 
to have a ereat affection for him. He, also, like her, is re- 
presented with wings ; sometimes, as a child or youth, ex- 
tended on a couch, with a branch of poppy in his hand. 

Sleep, as we are told by Ovid, dwells in a deep cavern in 
the mountains of the Cimmerii, into which the rays of the 
sun or light never penetrated ; where no animal ever came, 
nor any sound was heard, save the dull murmur of the river 
Lethe running through. The god himself sleeps upon a 
gloomy couch, the covering of which is black. He is sur- 
rounded with myriads of Dreams, his offspring, whose task 
it is to prolong the repose of their father. The chief of these 
are, Morpheus, who, as his name imports from the Greek 
morphe, a form, can put on the form of any mortal ; Icelus, 
who presents to monarchs in their sleep the shape of any 
beast or bird or living thing ; and Phantasus, who takes 
the appearance of inanimate objects. Dreams are supposed 
to have been brought from the shade of an elm in the infer- 
nal regions, where they usually resided. 



THEMIS, ASTR2EA, AND NEMESIS. 



73 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

THEMIS, ASTRiEA, AND NEMESIS. 

Themis, which is a Greek word for law, or rule of right, 
was, according to Hesiod, the daughter of Ccelu.m and 
Terra, whose office, as her name imports, was to instruct 
mankind to do things honest and right : wherefore it is 
said that her images were placed before those who spoke to 
the people, that they might be admonished thereby to say 
nothing but what was just and righteous. Diodorus says 
she was the foundress of divination, sacrifices, and the laws 
of religion, and of every thing that served to maintain order 
and peace ; and accordingly she was accounted the goddess 
of justice, and those whose employment it was to preserve 
the worship of the gods, and the laws of society, were after 
her called Thesmophylaces and Thesmothetce. Hence, too, 
it was said, that when Apollo delivered oracles at Delphos, 
he performed the office of Themis. 

The poets feign that Themis was one of Jupiter's wives, 
and had by him three daughters, Eunomia, Dice, and Irene, 
as before observed ; besides the Horce, or Seasons. The 
seasons were at first but three — spriug, summer, and 
autumn, which were represented by a rose, an ear of corn, 
an apple, or a bunch of grapes. They were said to be the 
nurses of Venus; to have been born in the opening of the 
year ; to have been the doorkeepers of heaven ; and to have 
harnessed the horses of the sun. The various temperature 
of the skies was supposed to depend upon their pleasure. 

Eusebius calls this goddess Carmenta, from carmen, a 
verse; because by her verse and precepts she was supposed 
to direct every one to that which was just. 

Astr^a, the daughter, as some say, of Aurora and 
Astr,eus, the Titan ; or as others rather say, of Jupiter and 
Themis, was the goddess of Justice, and was called by the 
Romans, Justitia. The poets feign that in the golden age 
she descended from heaven to the earth ; and, like the 
other gods, conversed freely with men ; but when they grew 
Q 



74 



DISCORD AND MOMUS. 



corrup„ sue became offended with them, and returned to 
heaven after all the other gods had gone before her, and 
was placed where we now see the constellation Virgo. She 
has been represented with an erect figure, a bandage over 
her eyes, a pair of scales in one hand, and a sword in the 
other. 

Nemesis, a deity closely connected with the two preceding, 
was, according to Hesiod, the daughter of Nox, without a 
father ; and was supposed to distribute rewards and punish- 
ments according to the strict rules of justice. It was also 
a part of her office to defend the relics and memories of 
deceased persons from injuries. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

DISCORD AND MOMUS. 

These deities are said also to be the children of Nox. 

To Discord Homer ascribes this peculiarity, that though 
at first she is but a dwarf, yet being nourished, she so in- 
creases in size, that while she walks on earth, her head 
touches the heavens. 

It was this goddess of whom it has been related that she 
threw an apple amongst the gods and goddesses who were 
assembled at the nuptials of Thetis, which occasioned the 
Trojan war. 

She is commonly represented with snakes on her head in- 
stead of hair, a burning torch in the one hand, and three 
scrolls in the other. 

The ancients offered up their prayers to this deity that 
they might be delivered from the evil of discord. 

Momus, from the Greek momos, which signifies a jester, 
mocker, or mimic, is not inaptly described as the son of 
Nox and Somnus, it being the mark of a dull, sottish tem- 
per to be always finding fault with others. This deity is 
said to have had no other employment than to make the 



RURAL DEITIES. 



75 



"other gods the object of his ridicule, sarcasm, or censure ; 
of which an instance is given in the contention between 
Neptune, Minerva, and Vulcan, as to which was the most 
skilful artificer. Neptune made a bull, Minerva a house, 
and Vulcan a man. When they were shewn to Momus, he 
found fault with Neptune's bull, because the eyes were too 
far a|)art, instead of standing under his horns, by which he 
might aim surer blows. He blamed Minerva, because she 
made her house immovable, instead of giving it wings, and 
making it as light as a feather, that it might be removed at 
pleasure, if perchance it were situated in a bad neighbour- 
hood. Vulcan's man he pronounced the worst piece of 
workmanship of all, because he had not put a window in his 
breast, so that one might see the thoughts that were working 
in his heart 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

RURAL DEITIES. 

Besides Diana, already mentioned among the superior 
gods, the rural deities, or Gods of the Woods, include Pan, 
Sylvanus, the Fauni, Satyri, Silenus, Priapus, Aris- 
t^us, and Terminus. 

Pan, the god of shepherds and hunters, leader of the 
nymphs, president of the mountains, and guardian of flocks 
and herds, was of uncertain descent, the poets having 
given him a diversity of parents. He is said to have been the 
son of Ccelus and Terra, or of ^Ether ; of Jupiter, by 
Hybris, Oneis, or Calisto ; of Demogorgon ; of Penelope 
and Ulysses, or Mercury. The latter is the most commonly 
received opinion. As soon as Pan was born, it is fabled 
that Mercury carried him in a goat's skin to heaven, where 
he charmed all the gods with his pipe, so that they associated 
him with Mercury in the office of their messenger. 
, He was afterwards educated on Mount Mserialus, in Ar- 
cadia, by Sinoe and the other nymphs, who, attracted by his 
music, followed him as their leader. Notwithstanding his 



76 



RURAL DEITIES. 



attachment to rural pursuits, he is said to have assisted 
Jupiter in his war with the Giants, and to have entangled 
Typhon in his nets. He is also mentioned as one of the 
companions of Bacchus in his military expeditions. 

It is related of Pan, that when the Gauls invaded Greece, 
and were just going to pillage Delphi, Pan struck the tn with 
such a sudden consternation, by night, that they fled without 
being pursued ; whence the expression of panic, for a sudden 
terror, took its rise. Also, that Pan aided the Athenians 
m a sea-fight gained by Miltiades over the Persian fleet, for 
which they dedicated a grotto to him, under the citadel, and 
paid him extraordinary honours. 

Some have also derived from him the name of Hispania, 
Spain, before called Iberia, from his being supposed to have 
subdued that country after the Indian expedition, and taken 
up his abode there. 

Pan is represented with a smiling ruddy face, and thick 
beard covering his breast, two horns on his head, legs and 
thighs hairy, and the nose, feet, and tail of a goat. He is 
clothed in a spotted skin, having a shepherd's crook in one 
hand, and the pipe of unequal reeds in the other ; and is 
crowned with pine, that tree being sacred to him. The 
figures of Pan, says Mr. Spence, are usually naked, to denote 
his agility; and Silius Italicus speaks of him as flying 
or bounding from the top of one rock to another. The 
Homan poets, however, generally speak of Pan in his 
character of inspiring terrors into an army, with causeless 
alarms, which was commonly ascribed to him. The artists, 
therefore, agreeably to this representation, give him a face 
more terrible than that of Mars himself. The Athenians 
are said to have statues of this god, carrying a trophy on 
his shoulders, like the figures of Mars. 

The idea of this cloven-footed deity, or goatish god, as 
Ovid calls him, was, no doubt, borrowed from the Egyptian 
god Mendes, which is his prototype. The resemblance in 
the representations of this deity and of Satan is very striking. 
Plutarch also speaks of an extraordinary voice which was 
heard in the Ionian sea, and which pronounced these words, 
?< The great Pan is dead." The astrologers who were con- 
iulted by Tiberius, upon the credit of Thaumus, who 



RURAL DEITIES. 



77 



averred that he heard it, told that prince that it meant Pan, 
the son of Penelope. Eusebius is of opinion that the voice 
was supernatural, and that God was pleased by it to intimate 
to the world the death of the Messiah, which happened in 
the reign of that emperor. At all events it is clear that 
the opinion was then becoming current, that the powers of 
darkness were by that event to be destroyed. 

Pan, the name of this deity, is derived from the Greek 
word pan, signifying all, because he was supposed to be 
the god of the universe ; or, as others say, because he 
delighted all persons with his music. Although he was a 
god of the Romans by adoption only, yet there are more 
ample accounts of him to be found among the Roman than 
the Grecian writers. 

Pales was the goddess, as Pan was the god, of shepherds, 
of whose parentage no mention is made. She has been 
considered the same as Cybele. The Romans celebrated 
her festival every spring, under the name of Palilia ; when 
the shepherds were wont to place little heaps of straw in a 
particular order and at a certain distance, and then to leap 
over them. They then purified the sheep and the rest of 
the cattle with the fumes of rosernary, laurel, sulphur, and 
the like. All this they did in honour of this goddess, that 
she might drive away the wolves, and prevent the diseases 
incident to the cattle. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

rural deities {continued). 

Sylvanus, a deity so called, from sylvte, the woods, over 
which he was supposed to preside, is represented, like Pan, 
with the feet of a goat, and the face of a man, of little stature, 
holding a cypress in his hand, stretched out, in token of his 
regard for Cyparissus, a youth who, having a tame deer that 
was accidentally kilkd by Sylvanus, died of grief, and was 
changed into a cypress tree. The Romans adopted this 
a 3 



73 



RURAL DEITIES. 



deity from the Pelasgi, the original settlers in Italy, who 
worshipped him out of their respect for woods and groves. 
The priests of Sylvanus constituted one of the principal 
colleges of Rome. There were many other Sylvani ; as there 
were also Sileni, Fauni, and Satyri. 

Silenus is celebrated among mythologists as the pre- 
ceptor of Bacchus. He is said by some to have been the 
son of Tellus, or, as others say, of Mercury, or of Pan ; 
whilst some suppose him to have sprung from the blood of 
Ccelus. 

As Bacchus is represented in the double character of the 
jolly god of wine, on the one hand, and a prince of great 
wisdom and justice on the other, it is not surprising to find 
his companion also represented in a two-fold character, 
although that of a drunkard is the one by which he is best 
known. 

Silenus is said to have distinguished himself greatly in 
the war with the Giants, by appearing on his ass, the bray- 
ing of which threw them into confusion. 

This deity is described as a short, corpulent old man, 
bald-headed, with a flat nose, prominent forehead, and long 
ears. He is usually exhibited as overcome with wine, and 
seated on an ass, upon which he supports himself with 
a long staff in the one hand, and in the other carries a can- 
thanis, or jug, with the handle almost worn out from frequent 
use. 

Silenus appears to have been a god altogether of Roman 
invention, but the Romans shew themselves here to have 
been clumsy imitators of the Greeks in the work of fiction. 
Indeed, the fable of Silenus has been considered as an 
attempt by the enemies of Christianity to turn our Saviour 
into ridicule ; in the account of whom and of Silenus, there 
are several points of resemblance. Silenus is made to ride 
an ass, which we know that Christ did on one occasion ; and 
also that it is said our Saviour shall bind his ass to the vine, 
and his colt to the young vine. Our Saviour is also said 
to have washed his garments in blood, as those who trod the 
wine-press ; so Silenus was made to preside over those who 
pressed the vintage. Our Saviour, as we learn from him- 
self, was reproached with being a wine -bibber ; and Silenus 



RURAL DEITIES, 



79 



is represented as always fuddled. There is also a remark- 
able expression attributed to Silenus, " That it was best 
never to be born ; and next to that, to die quickly ; " which 
words remind us of our Saviour's words in speaking of 
Judas, " That it were better for that man if he had never 
been born." 

The Satyri, Satyrs, were the companions of Silenus, and 
when they grew old are said to have been called Sileni. 

Fauni, the Fauns, are commonly joined with the Satyrs, 
from which they differ in name only. 

Priapus, said to be the son of Venus and Bacchus, was 
made the god of gardens, and was represented carrying a 
sickle in his hand, and crowned with herbs. With the 
sickle he was supposed to cut off all superfluous boughs, 
and to drive away thieves and beasts, and mischievous birds. 

Arist^us, said to be the son of Apollo by Cyrene, or as 
others say, of Liber-Pater, is distinguished for having first 
drawn oil out of the olive, and found out the use of honey. 

Termix t s was the god of boundaries, who was greatly 
honoured by the Romans. The statue of this god was 
either a square stone, or a log of wood planed, which served 
to mark the boundaries and limits of men's estates. These 
were esteemed sacred, and to move them was deemed such an 
offence, that the head of the offender became devoted to the 
Dii Terminalibus, and it was lawful for any one to kill him. 
They used to offer wafers made of flour to them, and the 
first-fruits of corn; and upon the last day of the year cele- 
brated festivals to their honour, called Terminalia. 

Flora, a Roman deity, and the goddess of flowers, was 
made to be the wife of Zephyrus, the west wind, to intimate 
that Flora, or the natural heat of the plant, must be united 
with the influence of the softest wind to bring it to perfec- 
tion. Varro reckons Flora among the ancient deities of the 
Sabines, which were adopted by the Romans ; and Ovid 
says that her Greek name was Chloris, which the Romans 
changed into Flora. 

This goddess was represented under the figure of a beau- 
tiful female, supposed to be blessed with perpetual youth, 
crowned with flowers, and bearing the horn of plenty in 
her hand* 



80 



MARINE DEITIES. 



Vertumnus, from verto, to change, on account of his 
supposed power of changing himself, like Proteus, into 
any form he pleased, was a god of the Romans, who was 
considered the god of orchards, as well as that of tradesmen. 

Pomona, from pomum, an apple, or any fruit, was the 
goddess of all the fruits of plants and trees ; with the cares 
of which, as the poet feigns, she was so taken up, that she 
had not time or inclination for any other pursuit. 

The Dryads and Hamadryads, nymphs of the woods and 
forests, were also among the rural deities ; besides several 
others among the Romans, supposed to preside over the 
country generally, or the hills and valleys, and also over 
rural occupations, as Rusina, Collina, Vallonia, &c. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

MARINE DEITIES. 

Among the gods designated as marine deities, besides 
Neptune, already described, the principal were Nereus, 
Triton, Proteus, the Sirens, Sea-Nymphs, and Achelous. 
. Nereus, the son of Oceanus and Tethys, or Terra, 
according to Apollodorus, was so called, from neros, moist, 
or neo, to swim, had his education in the waters, and 
resided principally in the iEgean sea. He is said to have 
had the faculty of assuming what form he pleased, and was 
regarded as a prophet. 

Triton has been variously described as the son of Nep- 
tune and Amphitrite, Neptune and Salacia, Neptune 
and Celceno, Oceanus and Tethys, and of Nereus and 
Doris ; but the more generally- received opinion was, that 
Neptune was his father, whom he attended as his companion 
and trumpeter. The poets ordinarily attribute to him the 
office of calming the sea and stilling of tempests. 

Triton is represented under the figure of a man, from the 
waist upwards, with blue eyes, a large mouth, and hair 
matted with wild parsley; his shoulders covered with a 



MARINE DEITIES. 



81 



purple skin, variegated with small scales ; his feet resembling 
the fore-feet of a horse, and his lower parts terminating with 
a forked tail, like a fish. His trumpet is a conch, or sea- 
shell. 

There were several Tritons, but one only who was the 
extinguished messenger of Neptune, as Mercury was of 
Jupiter, and Iris of Juno. 

Proteus is said by some to have been the son of Nep- 
tune and the nymph Phcenice, by others, of Oceanus and 
Tethys. 

As a god, he has been celebrated for his extraordinary 
faculty of assuming any form he pleased : he could flow like 
the water, or burn like the fire ; sometimes he assumed the 
shape of a fish, and at others that of a bird, lion, or what- 
soever he pleased. 

Orpheus ascribes to this deity the keys of the sea, and 
calls him the principle of all things, whence his Greek name, 
Proteus, from protos, first. St. Austin makes Proteus to 
be an excellent representation of truth, which escapes from 
us, and disguises itself in a thousand different shapes, by 
lying concealed under false appearances, from which it 
cannot be distinguished without great difficulty. 

The Sirens are described as three goddesses of the sea, 
remarkable for the sweetness of their voices, who, having 
challenged the Muses to a contest in singing, and being 
defeated, were, by way of punishment, changed, as to the 
lower parts of their bodies, into fishes, and as to their dis- 
position, into cannibals. Orpheus is said to have escaped 
their fascinations by the charms of his music, in conse- 
quence of which they threw themselves headlong into the 
sea, and were changed into stones. 

The Sea-Nymphs were the Oceanides, or the daughters 
of the Ocean ; the Nereids, or daughters of Nereus and 
Doris ; the Naiads, or Nymphs of the Fountains, &c. 

Achelols, son of Oceanus and Terra, wrestled, as they 
say, with Hercules, for no less a prize than Dejanira, 
daughter of King CEneus, who was betrothed to them both, 
but as Achelous had the power of assuming all shapes, the 
contest was long dubious. After various changes, he at 
length turned himself first into a serpent, and then into a 



82 



GODS OF THE WINDS. 



bull, when Hercules, plucking off one of his horns, forced 
him to submit. Achelous purchased his horn, by giving in 
exchange for it the horn of Amalthea, daughter of Harmo- 
dius, which became the Cornucopia, or Horn of Plenty. 
This, Hercules filled with a variety of fruits, and consecrated 
to Jupiter. 

Some explained this fable by saying that Achelous, which 
was a river in Greece, winded in its course like a serpent, and 
that its stream roared like a bull. It was also branched off 
into two channels, like the horns of an animal ; one of Avhich 
was stopped up by Hercules, and the circumjacent lands 
being drained, became fertile, and thus Hercules received 
the horn of plenty. 

This deity is usually represented with a single horn ; but 
his crown of reeds or willows serves to hide the defect. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

GODS OF THE WINDS. 

The genealogy of the Winds, according to Hesiod, was 
this : Creus, one of the Titans, was the father of Astr^eus ; 
Hyperion, another of the Titans, was the father of Aurora, 
as before mentioned ; Astraeus and Aurora, having married, 
became the parents of the Stars and Winds. 

The beautiful octagon Temple of the Winds at Athens 
had, on each side, the figure of one of the wind deities, over- 
against that point of the heavens whence they respectively 
blew. They were eight in number : namely, Boreas, Cecias, 
Apeliotes, Eurus, Notus, Libs, Zephyrus, and Sciron. 

Boreas, in the Latin Aquilo, or Septentrio, the god of 
the north wind, is represented as an old man, looking full 
®n the spectator, who is warmly clad. 

CiECiAS, the north-east wind, is represented as an old 
man, with severe countenance, holding in his hand a circu- 
lar shield, and seeming prepared to send down a rattling 
shower of hail. 



GODS OF THE WINDS. 



Apeliotes, the east wind, the god of which was supposed 
friendly to vegetation, is represented as a young man, with 
flowing hair and a fine open countenance, holding with both 
his hands the skirt of his mantle, filled with a variety of 
fruits, &c. emblematic of abundance. 

Eurus, in Greek Euros, the god of the soutn-east wind, 
whom the Romans made to preside over the whole eastern 
quarter of the heavens. Sometimes he is described as play- 
ful or wanton, and sometimes as impetuous. He is repre- 
sented as an old man, with a morose countenance, and 
wrapped in his mantle. 

Notus, in Latin Auster, the genius of the south wind, is 
represented under the figure of a young man, emptying a 
jar of water. He is described, however, by Ovid, as an old 
man, with grey hair, of a gloomy countenance, with clouds 
about his head, and water dripping from every part of him. 
Statius describes him as pouring down the water of the 
heavens on the earth ; and Juvenal, as sitting in the cave 
of the winds, and drying his wings. 

Libs, in Latin Africus, the genius of the south-west wind, 
is represented as a robust man, holding the aplustre of a 
ship in his hand, which he seems to push before him. He 
is described by Silius Italicus, with dusky wings. 

Zephyrus, in the Greek Zephyros, the god of the west 
wind, is depicted under the form of a youth, with a very 
tender air. He fell in love with the goddess Flora, and 
married her, as before mentioned. He is entirely naked, 
except a loose mantle, the skirt of which is filled with 
flowers. 

Sciron, the god of the north-west wind, which is ex- 
tremely cold in winter and scorching in summer, is repre- 
sented as a man with a languid air, bearing in his hand a 
curiously- wrought pot, supposed to be a fire-pot, which is 
filled with ashes, indicating the dry and scorching quality 
of this wind. 

On the top of this temple, which ended pyramidically, 
was placed a brazen Triton, with a rod in his hand, who 
turned about so as to shew from what point the wind blew. 

iEoLUS, the god of the winds, is said by some to have 
been the son of Jupiter by Acasta; according to others, 



34 



DOMESTIC DEITIES. 



of Hippotus, by Meneclea, daughter of Hyllus, king of 
Lepara. 

He is fabled to have had empire over the winds, which he 
confined in a cave in the island of Stromboli, one of the 
iEolian Islands. 

The worship of the winds was borrowed by the Greeks 
from the East, for the Persians, according to Herodotus 
and Strabo, made the winds the objects of their adoration. 
Achilles is mentioned as having sacrificed to the winds, as 
did also the Greeks, by the advice of the oracle, on hearing 
of the intended invasion by Xerxes. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

DOMESTIC DEITIES. 

These deities comprehended what the Latins called Dii 
minorum gentium, and sometimes Semones, Minuti, Plebeii, 
and Patellarii ; and were, for the most, Roman gods only. 
Among these the principal were the Penates, Lares, 
Manes, Larvae, or Lemures, Genii, Nuptial Deities, Deities 
presiding over infants and women, and others presiding over 
adults, besides the Funereal Gods. 

Penates, or Household Gods, were the deities whom 
the ancients adored in their houses. The Hetruscans called 
them Consentes, or Complices. They are supposed to have 
been the tutelary gods of the Trojans, whom the Romans 
adopted, and gave them the name of Penates, from pe?ms, 
provision ; or because the Romans supposed them to be 
born penes eos, with them ; or because they were supposed 
to dwell penitus, within, whence came the penetrate, or the 
innermost recess of any place. 

There are said to have been three orders of Penates, as, 
j. Those who presided over kingdoms and provinces, and 
were absolutely and solely called Penates, or Dii Patrii, 
which belonged to the Greeks and Romans, and compre- 
hended the superior gods before mentioned. 2. Those who 
presided over cities only, who were called the Patrii Penates, 



DOMESTIC DEITIES. 



of whomYirgil makes mention. 3. Those who presided 
over particular houses and families, whom Virgil calls the 
Parvi Penates, the small gods, who are the proper subject 
of this chapter. 

The dog was sacred to the Penates, whose skin was placed 
on their statues, or at their feet. 

These Penates are said to have had no human figure, but 
were brazen rods, shaped like trumpets. Others maintain 
that they had the shape of young men, with spears. It is 
probable that both these suppositions are true, as many 
of the deities were represented occasionally by shapeless 
masses of wood or stone. 

The Teraphim, or false gods of Laban, are supposed to 
have been the same as the Penates. 

The Lares are generally said to have been the twin children 
of Mercury, by the nymph Lara, although some have as- 
signed them a different origin. They were a sort of household 
gods, and presided over houses, streets, ways, and even cities. 

The Lares were either private or public. The private 
Lares, otherwise called Lares familiar es } were no more than 
the souls of departed persons, to whom they paid divine 
honours. They took care of particular houses and families, 
and were therefore called Prcestites, whence these deities 
acquired their name, if, as Scaliger thinks, the word lar, 
in the Hetruscan dialect, signified a presider. 

The public Lares were called Compitales, from compitum, 
a crossway ; whence the festival in honour of them was 
called Compitalia. 

The name Urbani was given to those who had cities under 
their care ; that of Rurales, to the Lares of the country ; and 
that of Marmi, as is supposed, to those that had ships under 
tLeir care. 

In the sacrifices offered to the Lares, the first-fruits of 
the year, wine, and incense, were brought to their altars, and 
their images adorned with chaplets and garlands. Some- 
times they offered to them a hog, or a bandage of wool. 
The custom of thus honouring the Lares, originated in the 
ancient practice of burying their dead within their houses, 
wherefore they imagined that their souls lemained there, 
and worshipped them as gods. 

H 



DOMESTIC DEITIES. 



The Manes, whose mother is said to have been Mania> 
were the spirits of departed persons, and reckoned among 
the infernal deities, whose particular province was to preside 
over burial-places and the monuments of the dead : where- 
fore the sepulchral inscriptions of the Romans were usual \y 
headed with the letters D. M., i. e. Diis Manibus, by way of 
supplicating them to avert any profanation. When the 
practice of burying their dead in their houses ceased, it is 
supposed that the Manes took the office of the Lares, so far 
as regarded the spirits of the departed. 

The Lemures, vulgarly called Larvae, were the spirits 01 
wicked men departed, who were supposed to wander round 
the world for the purpose of frightening the good and tor- 
menting the bad ; whence at Rome were instituted the 
Lemuria, to appease the manes of the dead. During this 
solemnity, which lasted three days, all the temples of the 
gods were shut, and marriages were prohibited. They 
burnt beans, the smell of which was supposed to be offensive 
to the Larvae, and repeated magical charms, which, with 
the beating of drums, they imagined would drive away the 
ghosts, and prevent them from disturbing the tranquillity 
of their families. 

The Lami.e, who are nearly allied to the fovmer, were 
supposed to be evil spirits, who assumed the form of beau- 
tiful women, and, enticing away young children, devoured 
them. 

Genius, in Greek Damon, was a general name for any 
spirit, under which were comprehended the Lares and Le- 
mures, before mentioned ; but the Genii, properly so called, 
were certain deities who were appointed to every man at the 
hour of his birth. There were two assigned to each person, 
— a good and an evil genius, called, by Horace, a black and 
a white genius, who rejoiced or was afflicted at the good or 
evil that befel him. 

Wine and flowers were offered in the sacrifices to the 
Genii, particularly by people on their birth- day. ; 

The Nuptial Gods and Goddesses were exceedingly 
numerous, particularly among the Romans. To every 
marriage five deities were supposed to be necessary ; 
namely, Jupiter perfectus seu adultus, Juno perfecta seu 



HERCULES. 



87 



adulta, Venus, Diana, and, lastly, the goddess Suada, or 
Suadela, in the Greek Pitho, that is, the goddess of Persua- 
sion, who was looked upon to be the companion of Venus. 
To these may be added Hymenceus, or Hymen, who was 
supposed to be the son of Venus ; also Jug atina, Viriplaca, &c. 

The Romans had also deities who presided over children, 
particularly at the birth, or in their infancy, and others who 
presided over adults. 

Among these was Libitina, the goddess of funerals, 
suposed to derive her name from libitus, pleasure, because, 
by some, she was supposed to be the same as Venus ; thus 
making her who gave life to preside over death, to show 
that we are born mortal. In or near her temple, all things 
necessary for funerals were furnished, and thither also 
every head of a family carried a piece of money when any 
one died in his family ; whence the Rationes Libitincs, or the 
account of those who died at Rome was made out, answer- 
ing to our Bills of Mortality. The Libitinarii, or under- 
takers, lived around the temple of this goddess, and the 
gate through which all dead bodies were carried, was called 
Porta Libitina. From the name of this goddess, the word 
Libitina signified also the grave, the hearse on which the 
corpse was borne to the place of burial, the expenses of the 
funeral, and the last duties paid to the dead. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

DEMIGODS AND HEROES. 

Hercules was a name given to several heroes ; but the 
famous actions of all are ascribed to him who was supposed 
to be the son of Jupiter, by Alcmena, the wife of Amphi- 
tryon, king of Thebes. He is said to have been born about 
1280 years before the Christian era. On Juno's discovering 
the infidelity of Jupiter, she compelled him to decree that 
"whichever was born first, namely, Hercules, or his cousin 
Eurystheus, son of Sthenelus, king of Mycenae, should be 
the superior, and have the other in subjection. After which 



83 



✓EMIGODS AND HEROES. 



she hastened the birth of Eurystheus, and by this device 
made the latter master of Hercules, — a fable, which may 
possibly have taken its rise from the story of Jacob sup- 
planting his brother Esau. 

When Alcmena became a mother, she had two children-— 
Hercules, and his twin-brother, Iphiclus. When these 
children were eight months old, it is said that Juno, insti- 
gated by hatred, sent two monstrous serpents to destroy 
Hercules. Iphiclus, terrified at the sight, crept out of the 
cradle and alarmed the whole household, who, when they 
went in, found Hercules grasping in each hand the neck of 
the serpents, and when he let them go, they proved to be 
dead. 

After Hercules was grown up, his powers were, as we are 
told, soon put to a severe test. Eurystheus, his cousin, 
summoned him to appear before him at Mycenae, to receive 
his commands. On his repairing thither, he went, as it is 
fabled, crowned with the gifts of all the gods. Minerva had 
given him a suit of armour, Apollo a bow and arrows, Mer- 
cury a sword, Neptune a horse, Vulcan a club of brass, and 
his father Jupiter a shield. 

Thus equipped, he entered on the performance of the 
several tasks imposed on him by Eurystheus, which have 
been celebrated by the appellation of his Twelve Labours, 
and are described in the following order : 

First, the destruction of the Nemaean lion, which was 
said to be invulnerable by any weapon ; Hercules killed it 
by tearing asunder its jaws. 

Secondly, he killed the Hydra, a serpent in the lake 
Lerna, having, as some said, a hundred heads ; and that 
when any one of these heads was cut off, another presently 
sprang up in its place, unless the blood which issued from 
the wound was stopped by fire. Hercules destroyed the 
monster by staunching the blood of each head as he cut 
it off. 

His third labour was the conquest of the Erymanthian 
boar, which ravaged the forests of Erymanthus, in Arcadia, 
and had been sent to Phocis by Diana as a punishment for 
the neglect of her sacrifices. Hercules is said to have 
brought him alive, on his shoulders, to Eurystheus. 



HERCULES. 



89 



His fourth labour was to catch the hind (Enoe, which fre- 
quented Mount Menalus, having feet of brass and golden 
horns. This he caught and carried alive to Eurystheus. 

The fifth labour of Hercules consisted in killing the 
Stymphalides, birds so called from frequenting the lake 
Stymphalis, in Arcadia, the talons of which were of iron, 
and their food human flesh. 

The sixth labour was the cleansing the Augean stable. 
Augeus, a king of Elis, is said to have had a stable which 
held three thousand oxen, and had not been cleansed for 
thirty years. Hercules effected the cleansing by turning 
the river Alpheus through the stable. 

His seventh labour was to take alive a bull which Nep- 
tune sent against Crete, as a punishment to Minos for 
neglecting his sacrifices. This he brought, bound, to Eu- 
rystheus. 

His eighth labour was to bring away the mares of Dio- 
medes, king of Thrace, who is fabled to have fed them with 
the flesh of his guests. Hercules bound this cruel king, 
and threw him to be eaten by his own horses. 

His ninth labour was the conquest of Hippolite, queen of 
the Amazons, and the taking from her her belt, which was 
the most famous thing of the kind. 

His tenth labour was one of the most terrible he had yet 
been engaged in ; this was, to bring away the purple- coloured 
oxen of Geryon, a monster with three heads, the brother of 
Echidna, and the uncle of Orthos, Cerberus, Hydra, and 
Chimaera. It was during this expedition that Hercules is 
said to have erected two pillars, at Calpe and Abyle, on the 
utmost limits of Africa and Europe, known by the name of 
Hercules' Pillars. 

His eleventh labour was to kill the dragon that watched 
the garden of the Hesperides, and to bring away the golden 
apples. 

The twelfth and last labour imposed on him by Eurys- 
theus was, to go down to Hell and bring away the triple- 
headed dog, Cerberus. This he performed without delay, 
after having first sacrificed to the gods. He then descended 
by a cavern of Mount Taenarus, in Laconia. Cerberus no 
sooner saw him than he is said to have taken refuge beneath 
h 3 



90 



DEMIGODS AND HEROES. 



the steps of Pluto's throne. Hercules cast a threefold chain 
round his three necks, and, notwithstanding the violent 
resistance offered by Cerberus, dragged him away to 
Mycenae. 

Besides these twelve labours, the Greeks relate many other 
exploits and wonderful adventures of their favourite hero. 
Among other things, it is said that he delivered Hesione, 
daughter of Laomedon, king of Troy, from the whale to which 
she was exposed, in this manner : — he raised a bank on a 
sudden in the place where Hesione stood, and planted him- 
self before it. When the monster approached, Hercules is 
said to have leaped into his mouth, and sliding down into 
his belly, to have succeeded, after three days, in bursting 
through the animal, with the loss of his hair only. This 
fable reminds us of the story of Jonah, in the Scripture. 

Like Samson of old, Hercules was unfortunate with his 
wives. He was so enamoured of Omphale, queen of Lydia, 
that, for her sake, he submitted to be dressed in a female 
garb, and spin among the women. Dejanira, another of 
his wives, is said to have occasioned his death, by sending 
him a poisoned coat, which, when he put on, caused him 
such agony, that he threw himself on a burning pile that he 
had set up for the purpose of sacrificing to the gods ; after 
which he received divine honours. 

There were many festivals celebrated in honour of Her- 
cules, particularly in Greece. These were called after him, 
Heracleia; and at Rome there were, not one, but many 
temples and altars erected to him. 

The ancient Latins used to worship this deity under the 
name of Dius or Divus Fidius, that is, the god of faith ; and 
would call him to witness, by the words Me Dius Fidius, So 
help me the god Fidius. Although the Greeks ascribed 
everything to their Theban Hercules, yet it is admitted on 
all hands that they borrowed the idea of this hero from the 
Samson of Holy Writ, and also probably from the Tyrian 
Hercules. They evidently took several legends from the 
story of Samson and others in Holy Writ, and the name, 
from the Phoenician, harokol, which signifies a merchant. 

Artists combined with poets and mythologists in doing 
honour to Hercules, of whom there is a greater variety of 



JANUS, 



91 



representations than of any divinity among the heathens. 
He is usually represented as a prodigiously muscular man, 
clothed in the skin of the Nemaean Hon, leaning upon a 
formidable club, or holding the same ; besides which, all 
nis labours and adventures have been the subjects of divers 
representations. In a painting of his first labour, taken 
trotn a gem, he is represented killing the lion by tearing 
open its^jaws, in the same manner as Samson is usually 
depicted. The Farnese statue of Hercules is among the 
finest works of art 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 
demigods and heroes (continued). 
Janus, of whom mention is made under Saturn, is said 
by - me to have been the son of Ccemjs and Hecate, and 
that his name was given him from a word signifying to pass 
through ; whence it is that thoroughfares are called, in the 
plural number, jam, and the gates before the doors of pri- 
vate houses. jmmuB. But admitting that Janus, according 
to the generally-received opinion, was the patriarch Xoah, 
or one of his more immediate descendants who settled in 
Italy, the name may be derived from the Hebrew, jajin, 
wine ; or it may be a variation of eanus, or the Babylonic 
oannes, of which more will be said hereafter. The notion 
of his being the deity of gates is, in all probability, derived 
from the circumstance of Xoah having made a door in the 
side of the ark, which was opened during his ingress and 
ogress, and which was shut during the continuance of the 
deluge. 

Historians speak of Janus as a king of the Tuscans, or 
»iaes of Italy, who first taught his people to cultivate 
the vine, to sow corn, and make bread. He was also a 
prince of singular prudence and piety, who first instituted 
a tars, temples, and sacrifices : in all which he bears a strong 
re-emblance to the patriarch Xoah, who.il 1 he did not actually 
reign in Italy, was held in remembrance by his descendants, 
who peopled that country. 



92 



DEMIGODS AND HEROES- 



He is commonly painted with two faces, and is called by 
Virgil, bifrons, and by Ovid, biceps. Several reasons have 
been assigned for this representation of him. Those who 
think him to have been the representative of Noah, suppose 
that it was intended to denote that he could see both the 
old world before the deluge, and the new world after. 

Janus was confessedly a deity of Roman origin, for we 
are informed by Ovid that the Greeks had no Janus. But 
Macrobius tells us that the Greeks worshipped a deity under 
the name of Thyreus, or the god of doors, who was esteemed 
the president of ingress and egress. 

Janus,doubtless,obtained divine honours very soon after his 
death, for the Romans looked upon him as the most ancient 
of beings, and that his majesty comprehended the whole 
universe, and that all things derived their existence from 
him. In the Salian verses he had the high title of God of 
gods, and was by distinction addressed, in the supplications 
of the Romans, as their common father. 

Janus is sometimes described with four faces, from the 
four quarters of the world, which he was supposed to govern 
with his counsel and authority. 

. J anus was called clavijer, or club-bearer, from the rod and 
keys which he is represented as holding in his hands. By 
the rod it was intended to signify that he was the guardian of 
the ways. The key was assigned to Janus for several reasons. 

In the first place, he was held to be the inventor of 
locks, doors, and gates, which latter are called janucs, after 
him ; and he himself is styled Janitor, because doors were 
under his protection. 

In the next place, he was considered as the Janitor of the 
year, and of all the months : the first of which, January, 
took its name from him. Hence it was that twelve altars 
were dedicated to him, according to the number of the 
months, and also twelve small chapels in his temple. Pliny 
informs us that the statue of Janus, which was dedicated by 
Numa, had its fingers so composed as to signify the number 
of three hundred and sixty- five days ; and that he was the 
god of years, times, and ages. 

Another reason why Janus is described as holding a kej 
is this, that he was looked upon as it were the door through 



INACHUS. 



93 



which the prayers of mankind had access to the gods ; 
wherefore, in all their sacrifices, prayers were offered up by 
the Romans, first to Janus. As he was the first institutor 
of altars and temples, so they began their rites by offering 
bread, corn, and wine, to him, before any thing was offered 
to any other deity. 

Janus had the appellations of Patulous and Clausius, or 
Patnlacius and Clusius, from paieo, to open, and claudo, 
to shut; because, as before observed, the temple of Janus 
was open in time of war, and shut in time of peace. 

Ovid mentions both these names of Janus, and Virgil 
describes the circumstances which attended the opening the 
temple, and the consequences of shutting it again. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

demigods and heroes (continued)., 

Tnachus, the reputed son of Oceanus and Tethys, is said 
to have founded the city of Argos, in Peloponnesus, in the 
year before Christ. 1856. He was the father of Io, of 
whom it is fabled that Jupiter ran away with her, and changed 
her into a heifer, to elude the vigilance of Juno. She, how- 
ever, was not deceived by the trick ; but begging of Jupiter 
to give her the heifer, she committed her to the care of 
Argus, after whose death Juno drove the heifer mad, and, 
in her madness, she fled to Egypt. 

This fable of Io is derived from the Egyptian mythology, 
where Io was worshipped under the name of Isis ; and her 
son Epaphus, by Jupiter, was, according to Herodotus, an 
Egyptian deity, to whom bulls were sacred, 

in the days of Inachus happened the fabulous contest 
between Juno and Neptune, for the sovereignty of Argos, 
which, being referred to him, was decided in favour of Juno ; 
wherefore Neptune, in his anger, deluged the whole country, 
but was afterwards induced by Juno to cause the sea to 
retire ; and the Argives, in gratitude, erected a temple to 
Neptune, the lnundator. This local deluge, like several 



94 



DEMIGODS AND HEROES. 



others mentioned in Grecian mythology, are all supposed 
to allude to the general deluge. 

Argus, son of Aristor, so called from argos, white, is 
fabled to have had an hundred eyes ; and, on that account, to 
have been chosen by Juno as the keeper of Io, above men- 
tioned ; but Jupiter, pitying Io, who was thus closely 
watched, sent Mercury, under the disguise of a shepherd, 
who, with his flute, charmed Argus to sleep, sealed up his 
eyes with his wand, and then cut off his head. Juno, grieved 
at the death of Argus, changed him into a peacock. 

Authors, in explaining this fable, suppose Argus repre- 
sented the starry heavens, the light of which, Mercury, 
who is made to represent the sun, extinguishes whenever he 
rises. 

Castor and Pollux, supposed to be twin brothers, the 
sons of Jupiter by Leda, the wife of Tyndarus, king of 
Sparta, whom that god is fabled to have visited, under the 
form of a swan. Leda, as mythologists feign, brought forth 
two eggs, from one of which, impregnated by Jupiter, came 
Pollux and Helena, who were said to be immortal ; but 
from the other egg, impregnated by Tyndarus, sprung 
Castor and Clytemnestra, who were mortaL They were, 
however, all called Tyndarid^e. 

According to Tzetzes, Nemesis, the daughter of Oceanus, 
is said to have produced the egg by Jupiter, which she left in 
a marsh. A shepherd found it and carried it to Leda, who 
carefully preserved it in an ark, from which, in due season, 
issued Castor, Pollux, and Helena. This fable, either way, 
refers to the deluge, when the egg, that is, the world, as it 
was understood by the ancients to be, was preserved in the 
ark. 

When Castor was killed, Pollux prayed to Jupiter to 
restore him to life again, and bestow on him immortality ; 
but as this could not be granted, he obtained leave to share 
his immortality with his brother ; so that they were said to 
live and die alternately, every day. They were buried in 
the country of Lacedaemon, and afterwards, being translated 
into the heavens, they were made the constellation Gemini, 
one of which rises when the other sets. Sailors esteem 
these stars lucky to them. 



^SCULAPIUS. 



9J 



These two deities were always represented together, 
mostly as two beautiful youths, completely armed, and 
riding on white horses, with stars over their helmets. The 
figures of them were exactly alike, each having a chlamys, 
or cloak, and holding a spear in the same posture. The 
Lacedaemonians represented them under the figure of two 
parallel pieces of wood, joined together top and bottom, 
so as to form the present astronomical character of the 
twins, thus, n. 

.ZEsculapius, also one of the Argonauts, is mostly 
described by mythologists as the son of Apollo, by the 
nymph Coronis, who, for his skill in physic, was ranked 
among the gods. 

At Epidaurus, iEsculapius was worshipped under the figure 
of a serpent, but was usually represented in his statues as a 
man, sometimes with a beard, and sometimes without, but 
always accompanied with the serpent as his symbol. 

This fable reminds us of the brazen serpent in the wil- 
derness, on which those who looked, after having been 
bitten by the fiery serpents, were, by Divine appointment, 
healed of their wounds. 

iEsculapius, in the Greek Asclepios, though given out as 
a god of Grecian origin, is known to have been borrowed 
from the Egyptians. Sancthoniatho speaks of a famous 
physician, who was supposed to be descended from the Ti- 
tanidae ; and Eusebius also speaks of a famous physician in 
Egypt, whom he names Tosorthrus, who was said to be. like- 
wise the inventor of architecture. 



CHAPTER XXXTX. 
demigods and heroes (continued). 

Perseus was the son of Jupiter, by Danae, the daughter 
of Acrisius, who was shut up by her father in a strong 
tower, because he had been told by an oracle that he should 
be killed by his own grandchild. This tower was supposed 



96 



DEMIGODS AND HEROES. 



to be impregnable ; but Jupiter found his way, as the poets 
feign, by changing himself into a shower of gold. 

As soon as Acrisius learnt that his daughter had 
brought forth a son, he had her and the child shut up 
in a chest, and thrown into the sea ; but the chest drifted 
upon the island of Seriphos, where Dictys, the brother of 
the king of the country, who happened to be fishing, took 
them to land, and committed them to the care of the 
priests of the temple of Minerva, by whom Perseus was 
educated. 

Perseus, by the help of Minerva's shield, is said to have 
slain the gorgon Medusa, whose head possessed the pro- 
perty that no one could look on it without being turned 
into stone. 

He married Andromeda, after having rescued her from a 
sea-monster ; and on his return to his native country, he 
is said to have accidentally killed his grandfather, Acrisius, 
who was then unknown to him. 

The story of Perseus is not without its allusions to the 
worship of the sun, as well as to the deluge. According to 
Tzetzes, Perseus was merely a title of the sun. The epithet 
Ercius, applied to his reputed father, Jupiter, and the name 
of the city, Argos, are both equally derived from the He- 
brew, erech, or araj, the ark. The deliverance of Andro- 
meda from the sea-monster, alludes to the escape at the 
deluge : the fish being emblematical of the ark. As to the 
exposing Perseus and his mother in a chest or ark, on the 
sea side, that is obviously copied from the similar exposure 
of Moses. The same story is told of Bacchus, who, with his 
mother Semele, is said to have been exposed in an ark, but 
was taken up and nursed by Ino. The like is also fabled of 
Telephus, son of Auge, by Hercules, whom Minerva is said 
to have taken under her protection. 

Amphitryon, king of Thebes, is less known by his own 
exploits than by the adventure of Jupiter with his wife Alc- 
mena ; the god, as it is fabled, having personated Amphi- 
tryon during his absence, and in order to prolong his visit, 
to have caused the sun not to rise for one whole day. This 
circumstance bears too strong a resemblance to Joshua's 
command to the sun to stand still, to have been purely 



PROMETHEUS. 



97 



accidental ; and if we are to suppose that the incident was 
really taken from the sacred writings, and applied in this 
manner, we cannot sufficiently admire the audacity of the 
fiction. 



CHAPTER XL. 
demigods and heroes (continued). 

Prometheus was the son of Japetus, who was the son 
of Ccelus and Terra, and one of the giants who fought 
against Jupiter. Prometheus incurred the resentment of 
Jupiter, by making a man of clay, and afterwards stealing 
fire from heaven with which to animate him ; for this he was 
bound to the mountain Caucasus, and an eagle was sent to 
gnaw his liver as often as it grew again. 

Jupiter, in resentment, commanded Vulcan to make a 
woman of clay, which, when he had done, she was intro- 
duced into the assembly of the gods, each of whom bestowed 
on her some additional perfection. Venus gave her beauty ; 
Pallas, wisdom; Juno, riches; Mercury taught her elo- 
quence ; and Apollo, music. From all these accomplish- 
ments, she was called Pandora, which signified as much as 
having all gifts. 

Jupiter, to complete his designs, presented Pandora with 
a box, in which were inclosed, Age, Diseases, War, Famine, 
Pestilence, Discord, Envy, Calumny ; and, in short, all the 
evils and vices with which he intended to afflict the world. 
Thus equipped, Pandora was sent to Prometheus, who, being 
on his guard against the mischief designed him, declined 
accepting the box ; but Epimetheus, his brother, though 
forewarned of the danger, had less resolution : for, ena- 
moured of the beauty of Pandora, he married her, and opened 
the fatal treasure, when immediately flew abroad the con- 
tents, which soon overspread the earth. Epimetheus shut 
the box as quickly as he opened it, so that Hope only 
remained at the bottom. 

In this story of Prometheus, Pandora, and Epimetheus, 
may be plainly discerned many points of resemblance with 
the Mosaic account of the creation, the fall of man, and 
I 



DEMIGODS AND HEROES. 



the origin of evil. Prometheus, which is a Greek word for 
wisdom, or providence, must be taken to represent the 
Creator. He made a man of clay ; and man is said, in Scrip- 
ture, to have been formed of the dust of the ground ; he 
animated him with heavenly fire, and the Creator breathed 
into him the breath of life. To Epimetheus and Pan- 
dora are ascribed the actions of Adam and Eve. Epime- 
theus is tempted by his wife to open the box containing the 
evils, as Adam was tempted by Eve to eat of the fruit from 
the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 

Deucalion was the son of Prometheus, and his wife 
Pyrrha was the daughter of Epimetheus by Pandora. 
In his time a flood is said to have happened, which swept 
off the whole human race except himself and his wife. The 
fable relates that Jupiter perceiving the depravity which 
prevailed, and was daily increasing, resolved to extirpate 
the human race ; and for this purpose poured forth such 
torrents, of rain as drowned the whole earth, and destroyed 
all mankind except Deucalion and his wife, who, embarking 
in a small vessel, alone survived the general destruction. 
When the flood subsided, they landed upon Mount Parnas- 
sus, and, struck with their forlorn condition, they consulted 
the oracle of Themis, which informed them that they must 
dig up the bones of their Great Mother, and cast them 
behind their backs. At first they were puzzled to unravel 
the meaning of the oracle, until Deucalion understood his 
Great Mother to mean the earth, and the bones to mean 
stones. They therefore, according to this interpretation, 
cast the stones behind their backs ; and those which were 
thrown by Deucalion became men, whilst those thrown by 
Pyrrha became women. 

This fable respecting the stones may possibly have origi- 
nated in the story respecting the Betulia, or moving stones, 
said to have been contrived by Uranus as before mentioned. 

This account of the universal deluge is given much at 
large by Ovid, whose writings show that he was acquainted 
with the Bible itself, or had learnt its contents from others. 
He relates, moreover, that Jupiter held a council of the 
gods ; and he makes him declare his resolution of punish- 
ing profligacy, much in the same manner as Moses repre- 



ATLAS. 



99 



sents the Almighty: " I will destroy all flesh." He adds, 
that Jupiter first designed to destroy the world by fire, but 
calling to mind that Fate had fixed the period of the gene- 
ral conflagration, he determined on burying the earth under 
water. From him also we learn that one man and woman 
only were saved. Lucan confirms this account in all its 
important particulars, as to the saving of one man and 
woman in an ark. 



CHAPTER XLI. 
demigods and heroes (continued). 

Atlas, the son of Japetus, and brother of Prometheus, 
is said to have been a king of Mauritania. According to 
Hyginus he assisted the giants in their war against Jupiter, 
for which he was doomed to sustain the weight of the 
heavens. By his wife Pleione he had seven daughters, 
whose names were Electra., Halcyone, CeljEno, Maia, 
Asterope, Taygete, and Merope, who from him were called 
Atlantidje, and from their mother Pleiades, which 
latter name is derived from the Greek pleo, to sail, because 
they were supposed favourable to navigation. 

He had also other seven daughters by his wife CEthra. 
Their names were Ambrosia, Eudora, Pasithae, Coronis, 
Plexaris, Pytho, and Tyche, who were called by the 
common name of Hyades, from the Greek heyo, to rain, 
because great rains attend their rising and setting. The 
Latins called them Suculce, that is, swine, because they 
seemed to delight in wet and dirty weather. 

Atlas is usually represented among the ancient artists as 
supporting a globe, answering to the description given of 
him by the poets. 

Hesperus is said by some to have been the son, and by 
others the brother of Atlas. He reigned some time in 
Italy, which from him was called Hesperia. It is related 
of him that being much addicted to the study of astronomy, 
he used to go up Mount Atlas to view the stars, and being 



100 



DEMIGODS AND HEROES. 



on one occasion carried away in a storm, so as to be no 
more seen, this made the people believe that he was rapt 
up into heaven, and caused him to be worshipped as a 
god. They called a very bright star from him Hesperus, 
Hesper, Hesperugo, Vesper, Vesperugo, that is, the evening 
star which sets after the sun. But when it rises before the 
sun it is called Phosphorus or Lucifer, from phos, in Latin 
lux, light, and phero, or fero, to bring. 

Hesperus had three daughters, Egle, Prethusa, and 
Hesperethusa, who, in general, were called the Hespe- 
rides. Hesiod makes them the daughters of Nox, and 
seats them in the same place as the Gorgons, at the extre- 
mities of the West, near Mount Atlas, on which account 
he considers them as the daughters of the Night, because 
the sun sets in that quarter. 

When Juno was mariied, she gave Jupiter a tree that 
bore golden fruit, which tree was committed to the care of 
the Hesperides ; and the garden in which it grew, called 
after them the Garden of the Hesperides, was guarded by 
a dragon, born of Typhon and Echidna, said to have a 
hundred heads and as many voices. It was one of the 
labours of Hercules to fetch away these apples. 

The ancients attempted to explain this fable in a variety 
of ways ; but the only proper explanation of it is, by re- 
ferring it to the Scripture account of Paradise. The tree 
said to bear the golden apples, is the tree of life, which, 
after the expulsion of our first parents from Paradise, was 
guarded " by cherubims, and a flaming sword turning 
every way to keep the way of the tree of life ;" whence the 
fiction of its being guarded by a dragon. 



CHAPTER XLII. 
demigods and heroes (continued). 

Orpheus was the son of Apollo by Calliope, one of 
the Muses, or of CEagrus, king of Thrace, by the same 
muse, was born in Thrace, and resided near Mount Rhodope, 



ORPHEUS, AMPHION, AND ARION. 101 

where he married Eurydice, a princess of the country, or 
as others say, one of the wood nymphs. 

Orpheus, whose skill on the lyre was so great that he is 
.said to have tamed wild beasts, stayed the course of rivers, 
and made whole woods follow him, descended, as the poets 
feign, into Hell, to recover his lost wife from Pluto and 
Proserpine, who granted his request on condition that he 
did not look behind him after Eurydice, until they were 
beyond the limits of the infernal regions ; but he, in his im- 
patience, forgetting the condition, Eurydice vanished from 
his sight — a condition which reminds us of Lot's wife. 

Orpheus is said to have been torn in pieces by the 
priestesses of Bacchus, while celebrating the orgies in 
honour of this deity. 

Amphion, the son of Jupiter, by Antiope, daughter of 
Nicetus, king of Bceotia, is said to have received his lute, 
or harp, from Mercury, with the sound of which he moved 
the stones so regularly that they composed the walls of the 
city of Thebes, He married Niobe, daughter of Tantalus, 
whose insult to Latona occasioned the loss of his children, 
as before mentioned. The unhappy father, filled with de- 
spair, is said to have been punished with the loss of sight 
and skill, and cast into the infernal regions, for having 
attempted to revenge himself on Apollo, by the destruction 
of his temple. 

Arion, a lyric poet of Methymna, in the island of Lesbos, 
was a musician of such skill as to make him a fit companion 
for the two preceding. He settled at Corinth, under the 
patronage of Periander, the king or tyrant of that place ; and 
after having accumulated considerable wealth, he wished to 
return to the place of his nativity. With that view he hired 
a vessel to carry him over, but when the mariners were got 
out to sea, they resolved to throw him overboard, in order 
to secure his riches. He tried to alter their purpose by 
the charms of his music ; but finding this ineffectual, he 
plunged into the sea, and was taken by a dolphin that was 
attracted by his music, and carried on his back safe to Greece. 
On his landing, he travelled on foot to the court of Perian- 
der, who, being informed of the circumstance, kept him in 
secrecy until the mariners arrived, when he inquired about 
i 3 



102 



DEMIGODS AND HEROES. 



Arion, and was told that they had landed him safely at Ta- 
rentum. They had no sooner pronounced these words, than 
Arion was, to their utter dismay, produced ; upon which 
they confessed their crime, and were all put to death. The 
dolphin, for his services, is said to have been made a con- 
stellation. 



CHAPTER XLII1. 
demigods and heroes (continued). 

Theseus was the son of jEgeus, king of Athens, by 
TEthra his wife, the daughter of Pitth^eus. 

He is celebrated for his many exploits and adventures, 
which he performed in imitation of Hercules. Among 
others, he put to death Procrustes, a cruel tyrant, who, 
under the shew of hospitality, invited strangers to sleep 
under his roof ; and, having beds of different sizes, he put 
the traveller who was tall, into a short bed, and lopped off 
so much of his limbs as exceeded the length of the bed- 
stead ; but if his guest was short, a long bed was assigned 
to him, and his limbs, by the help of a machine, were 
stretched to its length. Theseus put him to death by the 
same expedient which he had used for the destruction of 
others — a mode of retaliation practised by Hercules. 

His most famous exploit was the destruction of the Mino- 
taur, the occasion of which was as follows : Minos, king of 
Crete, made war upon iEgeus, because the Athenians had 
dishonourably and barbarously killed Androgeus, his son, 
who had carried away the prize from them all. When he 
had vanquished the Athenians, he imposed this severe con- 
dition upon them, — that they should send seven of the most 
noble youths of their country, and as many virgins, into 
Crete, by lot, every year, who were thrown into a labyrinth, 
and devoured by the monster called the Minotaur. Tn the 
fourth, the lot fell on Theseus, or, as others say, he volun- 
teered to be one of the seven ; to which his father JSgeus very 



THESEUS AND BEL LEROPHONi 



103 



reluctantly consented. Theseus went on board the vessel, 
the sails and tackle of which were black, and received this 
coinmand from his lather, — that if he escaped the peril that 
was before him, and returned home in safety, he should 
change his black sails into white ones, that his father might 
be assured of his safety as soon as possible. 

Before he set out, Theseus took those with him on whom 
the lot had fallen, and going to the temple of Delphi, there 
offered to Apollo a bough of consecrated olive, bound 
about with white wool, and prayed lor a safe return. Having 
thus performed his devotion, he embarked, on the sixth day 
of the month M ink h ion, our April j on which day, even to 
the time of Plutarch, the Athenians sent their virgins to 
the same temple, to make their supplications to the deity. 

As soon as Theseus arrived in Crete, we are informed by 
most historians and poets, that Ariadne, daughter of Minos, 
fell in love with him ; and, giving him a clue of thread, with 
instructions how to use it, he by means of it, passed through 
the windings of the labyrinth in which the Minotaur was 
confined, slew the monster, and sailed back with Ariadne 
and the Athenian captives. 

When the ship in which the hero embarked drew near, on 
>ts return, to the coast 01 Attica, the joy of all on board was 
so great, that neither Theseus nor his pilot thought of the 
black sail which was, by command of iEgeus, to have been 
taken down ; and when the anxious father, who had never 
ceased watching on the top of a high turret which over- 
looked the sea, descried the fatal signal, he threw himself 
headlong into the waters below, which after him were called 
the iEgean sea. 

Theseus is said to have married Ariadne, but, at the 
instigation of her sister Phaedra, to have left her on the 
island of Naxos. He himself was expelled from the throne 
of Athens, and ended a glorious life by an obscure death ; 
after which, the Athenians, repenting of their ingratitude, 
conferred on him divine honours. 

Bellerophon was a prince of Corinth, and son of Glau- 
cus, king of Ep^yra. Having had the misfortune to kill 
his brother, he was obliged to fly his country, and went to 
Prcetus, king of Argos, by whom he was hospitably received; 



104 



DEMIGODS AND HEROES. 



but having rejected the wicked overtures that were made to 
him by Stenobea or Antsea, the wife of Prcetus, she accused 
him to her husband of having offered violence to her. Prce- 
tus, in his anger, sent Bellerophon immediately away from 
his court, and, at the same time disguising his purpose, 
he gave him letters, which he said were letters of introduction 
to Jobates, king of Lycia, the father of Stenobea, in which 
he desired Jobates, as soon as he had read them, to put the 
bearer to death. 

Bellerophon, suspecting no guile, delivered the letters to 
Jobates, who, not willing to put the young prince to death 
wittiout any apparent reason, sent him on the dangerous 
expedition of killing the monster Chimaera, from which he 
thought that he would never return again alive. Bellero- 
phon, however, by the aid of the winged horse, Pegasus, 
with which Minerva, or Neptune, is fabled to have furnished 
him, succeeded in his enterprise, and delighted Jobates so 
much, that he gave him one of his daughters, and allotted 
him also a part of his kingdom. Upon hearing this, Steno- 
bea is said to have killed herself. 

Bellerophon was so transported with his success, that he 
endeavoured to fly up to heaven upon Pegasus, for which pre- 
sumption Jupiter struck him with madness, and he fell into 
the Aleius Campus, where he walked up and down, blind, to 
the end of his life. 1 

This fable is a mishmash of fiction, partly made out of dif- 
ferent events in Scripture. The story about Stenobea points 
mostly at the affair of Joseph and Potiphar's wife. Belle- 
rophon is said to have killed his brother, and the children 
of Israel intended to do the same towards their brother 
Joseph. But as regards the letters of Prcetus to Jobates, 
they evidently refer to the letter sent by David respecting 
Uriah the Hittite. In this manner, according to the nature 
of fiction, events and persons may be brought together at 
pleasure, so as to make a story. 



MINOS AND RHADAMANTHUS. 



105 



CHAPTER XLIV. 

demigods and heroes (continued), 

Minos, one of the judges of the Infernal Regions, the 
supposed son of Jupiter, by Europa, was adopted by 
Asterius, king of Crete, on his marriage with Europa, and 
succeeded him on his death. He is said to have married 
Pasiphae, daughter of Apollo. 

Minos was the father of Androgeus, Ariadne, and Phae- 
dra, already described ; he was also, as some say, the father 
of Jocastes, who succeeded him, and Acacallis, who married 
Apollo. 

He is said to have taught his people the arts of husbandry, 
but is most celebrated by the system of laws which he 
introduced into Crete, and the justice which he displayed in 
his government. 

A story is related of him, on his invasion of Attica, which 
serves to shewthat his character for justice was not given him 
without cause. Megara, one of the most considerable towns 
in Attica, was held by Nisus, the brother of iEgeus, with the 
title of king, whose hair was all white, except one lock, whict 
was of a bright purple colour. Of this lock it had been, 
declared, that Megara should never be taken, so long as it 
remained inviolate. "W hen Minos besieged Megara, Scylla, 
the daughter of Nisus, having fallen in love with him, as 
she saw him before the gates of the town, determined on 
cutting off this fatal lock, and carrying it to the camp of 
the enemy. Minos, however, was so far from countenancing 
her impious treachery, that he drove her from his presence, 
sacked Megara, and sailed for Athens. Scylla, seeing him 
depart, threw herself into the sea, in a frenzy, and was 
changed into a lark ; her father Nisus was, at the same time, 
changed into a hawk. 

The story about the lock of hair, in all probability, took 
its rise from what is related in Scripture about Samson, 
whose strength lay in his hair ; and that when that was cut 
off by his wife Delilah, the Philistines took him. 

Rhadamanthus, the brother of Minos, is said to have 
been a king of Lycia. He had, like his brother, a great 



106 



DEMIGODS AND HEROES. 



reputation for justice, and was, on that account, supposed 
to have been made one of the three judges of hell. 

iEACUS, supposed to be the son of Jupiter, by ^Egina, 
daughter of Asopus, king of Boeotia, had no less reputation 
for his justice and paternal government, than the two pre- 
ceding, and, on that account, was considered one of the 
three judges of hell, with them. 

It is probable that there were three real personages, whom 
these deities were intended to represent. That Minos was 
Moses is a supposition that seems to rest upon no other 
circumstance than that of their being both lawgivers, which 
is hardly sufficient to warrant the conclusion. Minos has, 
with greater reason, been supposed to be the same as the 
Menu of the Hindoos ; and, in that case, he is the repre- 
sentative of Noah, which is the more probable, as the fables 
respecting the infernal regions refer very particularly to the 
deluge. 

Cadmus, king of Thebes, was the son of Agenor, and is said 
to have been sent by his father in search of Europa, whom 
Jupiter carried away ; but the search proving fruitless, he, 
by the directions of the Delphic oracle, observed the motions 
of a cow, and built a city, near Mount Parnassus in Boeotia, 
which was called Thebes ; and when the followers of Cad- 
mus were destroyed by a dragon, as they went to fi tch water, 
he, to revenge their death, is said, by the help of Minerva, to 
have killed the dragon, and to have sown his teeth ; whence 
sprung armed men, who soon fell upon each other, and were 
all slain except five. With these five Cadmus afterwards 
peopled the country. 

As a recompense for his toils, it is further related that 
the gods gave him Harmonia, or Hermione, the daughter 
of Mars and Venus, to wife, and honoured the nuptials 
with peculiar marks of favour. 

Cadmus and his wife, after experiencing many vicissi- 
tudes of fortune, are said to have been changed into ser- 
pents ; or, as it is fabled by others, to have been sent to the 
Elysian Fields, by Jupiter, in a chariot drawn by serpents. 

The Greeks are said to be indebted to Cadmus for the 
invention of brass, whence the ore of which brass is made, 
is, from him, even now, called cadmia. They also received 



CEDIPUS. 



107 



from him sixteen letters of their alphabet, which, in the time 
of the Judges of Israel, he brought out of Phoenicia into 
Greece, and to which Palamedes, two hundred and fifty years 
alter, added tour more ; and Simonides, six hundred and 
fifty years after the siege, added four other letters. Cad- 
mus likewise, as is supposed, was the first who practised the 
art of writing in prose, and of consecrating statues to the 
honour of the gods. 

Cadmus is admitted, on all hands, to have been a real 
personage, a king of Sidon, by nation a Kadmonite, of 
which mention is made by Moses. The Kadmonites were 
the same as the Hivites, who possessed Mount Hermon ; 
whence they were also called Hermonaei, and on the same 
account his wife, Harmonia or Hermione, is supposed to 
have had her name, if she did not give that name to the 
mountain. 

The story of Cadmus abounds with legends respecting 
serpents. This may possibly have arisen from the word 
hivite, signifying in the Syriac, a serpent. At the same 
time, as the serpent is so frequently mentioned in Scrip- 
ture, and on such memorable occasions, it is not surprising 
that it should have become an important subject of fiction. 
It was the emblem of the sun, and, consequently, connected 
with the worship of that luminary. As Thebes took its 
name, probably, from the Hebrew thebah, an ark, we may 
here discover another vestige of the diluvian tradition. 

(Edipus, the son of Laius, king of Thebes, was exposed 
by his father on a mountain, in consequence of an oracle 
which had declared that the king would be killed by his 
own son ; but he was found by a shepherd, and carried to 
Polybus, king of Corinth, by whom he was brought up as 
his own child. When grown to man's estate, he left the 
court of Polybus, in order to repair to Thebes, and acci- 
dentally encountering his father Laius by the way, he slew 
him; after which he pursued his journey, and arrived at 
Thebes at the time when the country was infested with the 
Sphinx, a monster. 

As the Thebans had offered the crown to whoever would 
rid them of this monster, (Edipus presented himself before 
her, when he was required to solve this rddle : " What crea- 



108 DEMIGODS AND HEROES. 

ture is that, which goes in the morning on four legs, at 
noon on two, and at night upon three?" He answered, 
" Man, who crawls on all fours in childhood, walks on his 
two feet in manhood, and goes with a crutch in the decrepi- 
tude of age." The Sphinx had no sooner heard the answer 
of (Edipus, than she threw herself from a rock, and was 
dashed to pieces ; after which (Edipus ascended the throne 
of Thebes, and in ignorance married his mother Jocasta ; but 
learning afterwards that he was the murderer of his father, 
and living in incest with his mother, he tore out his own 
eyes, and, banishing himself from Thebes, wandered about 
on foot, attended only by his daughter, Antigone. 



CHAPTER XLV. 

demigods and heroes {continued). 

Pelops, the son of Tantalus, a king of Phrygia, is said 
to have been killed by his father, and served up on table to 
the gods ; but that they, discovering the wickedness, Jupiter 
restored Pelops to life, and condemned Tantalus to the 
punishment of standing in Tartarus, up to his chin in water, 
which, whenever he stooped to drink, retired from him ; at 
the same time, he was surrounded by the most luxuriant 
fruits, which eluded his grasp whenever he attempted to lay 
hold of them. 

Pelops married Hippodamia, daughter of (Enomaus, 
king of Elis, whom he conquered in a chariot race, by a 
stratagem. 

(Enomaus had been informed by an oracle, that he should 
perish by the hands of his own son-in-law, wherefore he 
had determined on not having a son-in-law ; but as ail the 
world was in love with Hippodamia, he found it necessary to 
rid himself of their importunities, by proposing that who- 
ever should vanquish him in a chariot race, should have the 
hand of his daughter, but if he was vanquished, he should 
be put to death. (Enomaus was so skilful a charioteer, 
and his horses so superior, that not less than thirteen, 
tempted by the greatness of the prize, had entered the lists, 



NIOBE, AGAMEMNON] 



109 



and been vanquished. Pelops, nevertheless, offered himself 
as the fourteenth ; but previously took care to secure, by a 
large bribe, Myrtilus, the groom of King (Enomaus, on his 
side, who took out the pin which confined one of the wheels ; 
in consequence of which it came out, and (Enomaus was 
kiJed by his fall. However, before he expired, he called 
Pelops to him, freely gave his consent to his marriage with 
Hippodamia, and at the same time besought him to punish 
the perfidy of his groom. This Pelops is said to have done, 
by throwing Myrtilus into the sea himself. 




Nioee, the sister of Pelops, was the wife of Amphion, 
the son of Jasus, king of Orchomenus, to whom she bore 
seven beautiful daughters and seven handsome youths, for 
wnich she was so puffed up with pride, that she compared 
herself with Latona, and was punished by Apollo and Diana 
with the loss of her children. Overwhelmed with the accu- 
mulated distress, she sunk into a torpor, and was changed 
into marble. 

Agamemnon, the son of Atreus, and grandson of Pelops, 
was chosen to command the expedition against the city of 
Troy ; after the capture of which he returned home, and 
was, on his arrival, murdered by JEgisthus, the son of Thy- 
estes, and the paramour of Clytemnestra. He had, by his 
faithless wife, Orestes and Ipitigenia, already mentioned. 

K 



110 



DEMIGODS AND HEROES, 



Of his father Atreus it is related, that, being jealous of 
his brother Thyestes, he killed the child, whom he suspected 
not to be his own, and served him up at the table of the 
latter. It is said that the sun, unable to endure so horrible 
a sight, went backward, and withdrew its light, — a fiction 
clearly taken from the Scripture account of the dial of Ahaz. 

Achilles was the reputed son of Peleus, by Thetis, his 
wife, of whom mention has already been made. His mother 
is said to have made his whole body invulnerable, by plunging 
him in the Stygian water, excepting that part of his foot 
by which she held him when he was washed. Never- 
theless, after performing many prodigies of valour, and slay- 
ing the Trojan hero, Hector, he is said to have been treacher- 
ously killed by Paris, in the temple of Apollo, whither he 
had been invited by Priam, under pretext of celebrating his 
marriage with Polyxena. The blow of Paris cut the tendon 
of his heel, which has since been named the tendon of 
Achilles. 

Achilles, having been lamented by Thetis, the Nereids, 
and the Muses, was buried on the promontory of Sigseum ; 
and after the capture of Troy, the Greeks endeavoured to 
appease his manes by sacrificing Polyxena on his tomb, as 
his ghost is said to have requested. The oracle of Dodona 
decreed him divine honours, and ordered annual victims to 
be offered at the place of his sepulture. 

Ulysses, in the Greek Odysseus, is said to have been so 
called from odos, a way, because he was brought forth while 
his mother was on a journey in the island of Ithaca. 

Although he went to the Trojan war with great reluctance, 
and even feigned madness in order to escape going, yet 
when he did go, he rendered such service to the Greeks, 
that the capture of the city is mainly ascribed to him. 

He obtained from Philoctetes the arrows of Hercules, 
which were used against the Trojans. He brought away the 
ashes of Laomedon, which were preserved upon the Scean 
gate, in the city of Troy. He, with the help of Diomedes, 
stole the Palladium from the city. He killed Rhesus, 
king of Thrace, and took his horses, before they had drank 
the water of the river Xanthus, on each of which matters the 
destiny of Troy depended ; for if the Trojans had preserved 



/ENEAS. 



Ill 



them, it is fabled that the city could never have been 
taken. 

2^0n his return home he was kept, by adverse winds, sailing 
backwards and forwards for twenty years, during which time 
he met with many adventures, Among other things, he 
resisted the incantations of Circe, the sorceress, and com- 
pelled her to restore his crew to their former shapes, whom 
she had transformed into beasts of different kinds. When 
he sailed past the island of the Sirens, he stopped the ears of 
his companions, and caused himself to be bound with strong 
ropes to the ship's mast, that he might avoid the fascinations 
of their voices. 

On his reaching the island of Ithaca, after a shipwreck, 
he put on the habit of a beggar ; but, having met with his 
son Telemachus, he made himself known to him ; and they 
with the assistance of the neatherds of Ulysses, fell upon 
the suitors of Penelope, and slew them all. After which 
Uiysses spent the remainder of his life, in happiness, with 
f his Penelope. 

Though it was generally thought that Ulysses was dead, 
yet neither the importunities of her numerous suitors, nor 
the solicitations of her parents, could induce Penelope to 
give her hand to any other man. Her suitors endeavoured 
by threats, as well as by entreaties, to change her resolution, 
and when she found herself unable to get rid of them, she 
begged that she might be permitted to defer her choice until 
she had finished the web she was engaged upon ; and by 
undoing at night what she had done in the day, she suc- 
ceeded in keeping them off until the return of Ulysses. 

.•Eneas was the son of Anchises, by the goddess Venus, 
and a descendant from Assaracus, the brother of Ilus. 
Among the achievements of Achilles, during the Trojan 
war, it is related by Homer that he fought with .-Eneas, but 
that Neptune carried off the latter from the field of battle. 

iEneas displayed great valour, as well as piety, on the night 
when the city was taken. After having done his utmost to 
defend it, he retreated only when he found his efforts un- 
availing, and taking his father, Anchises, on his back, and his 
son Ascanius, together with his household gods, in his hands, 
he got them, together with as many as could follow him, on 



J12 



DEMIGODS AND HEROES. 



board a vessel. He was for some time detained in the search 
aft^r his wife Creusa, the daughter of Priam, who, while walk- 
ing after him, suddenly disappeared and was no more heard 
of. He then embarked on board the vessel destined for the 
■\ oyage ; and after, among other adventures, landing in 
Africa, and being hospitably entertained by Dido, he pro- 
ceeded to Italy, and was kindly received by king Latinus, 
who gave him his daughter Lavinia in marriage. On the 
death of Latinus, who fell in the contest with Turnus, the 
king of the Rutuli, and rival of iEneas, the latter succeeded 
to the throne of his father-in-law, but was killed after a reign 
of three years. His body not being found, it was given out 
that Venus had raised him to the rank of the gods. 

A monument was erected to him on the banks of the river 
Numicus, where the battle had been fought, which was 
standing in the time of Livy, and where sacrifices were 
offered to him under the name of Jupiter Indiges. 

Romulus, the founder and first king of Rome, was brother 
of Remus, both sons of Rhea Sylvia, daughter of Numi- 
tor. The latter being dethroned by his brother Amulius, his 
daughter, Rhea Sylvia, was placed among the vestal virgins 
to prevent her having any children. However, not long 
after, contrary to the established laws of the vestal virgins, 
she became the mother of Romulus and Remus, when 
Amulius caused them to be exposed under a tree on the 
banks of the Tiber, where they were found by Faustulus, the 
king's shepherd, who took them to his wife, Laurentia, 
whom some call Lupa, which signifies also a she-wolf, whence 
they were said to be reared by a she -wolf. "When they were 
grown to man's estate, they collected together all that were 
disaffected to Amulius, by whose assistance they expelled 
the usurper and* reinstated their grandfather on the throne. 

Romulus after this began to build the city of Rome ; but 
a quarrel arising betwixt the two brothers, as to the site, it 
is said that Romulus killed his brother Remus, for which 
he was afterwards exceedingly sorry. 

Romulus then established a senate, and made a code of 
laws ; after which he is said to have disappeared, and it was 
given out that he was taken up to heaven, and was, accord- 
ingly, honoured as a god. The people, transported with joy, 



MORAL DEITIES. 



113 



entered heartily into the devotion of this new divinity, whom 
they declared to be the son of Mars, by Rhea Sylvia. They 
offered sacrifices to him under the name of Quirinus, insti- 
tuted a festival to him called Quirinalia, and appointed the 
Flamen Quirinalis to preside over his worship. 

Romulus is represented so much like his supposed father, 
Mars, that it is difficult in many cases to distinguish them ; 
but those figures of Mars Gradivus, with a trophy on the 
shoulder, are ascribed to Romulus, by Mr. Spence, because 
he was the inventor of trophies among the Romans. 

This assumption of Romulus, as also of Hesperus, into 
heaven, was a fiction taken from the assumption of Enoch, 
according to the Mosaic account, of which similar instances 
are to be found in the mythology of the Hindoos, the Cey- 
lonese, and the Calmucs. 



CHAPTER XLVI. 

MORAL DEITIES. 

The moral deities comprehend moral attributes, or phy- 
sical qualities, both good and bad, deified. Virtue and 
Honour, in general, Faith, Hope, Justice, Piety, Mercy, 
Clemency, Chastity, Truth, Mens, or Understanding, Con- 
cord, Peace, Health, Liberty, Money, Silence, and Mirth, 
had all divine honours paid to them ; as also the vices, or evil 
deities, Envy, Contumely or Impudence, Calumny, Discord, 
Fury, Fame, Fortune, Fever, Fear and Paleness, Poverty 
and Art, Tempest, Necessity and Violence, whose resent- 
ment they thought to deprecate. 

Piety, in Latin pietas, had a temple dedicated to her by 
Atilius, the Duumvir, in that place where the woman lived 
who fed her mother with her milk, and kept her alive in 
prison. The mother, as we are told by Pliny, was con- 
demned to imprisonment, and consequently to death by 
starvation. But her daughter, a woman of mean condition, 
visited her every day, on which occasion the jailer regularly 
searched her, to see that she carried in no food to 
k 3 



114 



MORAL DEITIES. 



mother. At last she was found giving suck to her mother 
from her breast. This example of filial piety procured the 
mother's freedom ; and they were both afterwards supported 
at the public expense. A similar instance is quoted by 
Valerius Maximus, in the Grecian history, of a woman who 
nourished her aged father, Cymon, who was imprisoned, with 
her own milk. Piety is represented in the dress of a Roman 
matron ; her symbols are, iEneas carrying his father on his 
shoulders, or a stork feeding its young; for piety extended 
as well to the affectionate conduct of parents to their chil- 
dren, as to the dutiful conduct of children towards their 
parents. 

Mercy, in Latin misericordia, Greek oictos, a goddess of 
the Athenians rather than of the Romans, to whom an altar 
was erected, and an asylum first established, as a place of 
refuge for the miserable and unfortunate, from which it was 
not lawful to force any one. 

Chastity, Pudicitia, to whom two temples were dedicated 
at Rome : one to Pudicitia Patricia, which none but ladies 
of noble rank were permitted to enter, and the other to 
Pudicitia Plebeia, where ladies of plebeian birth were allowed 
to worship. This latter was erected by Virginia, the daughter 
of Aulus, who, having married Volumnius, a man of plebeian 
origin, offended the ladies of her own order to such a degree, 
that they excluded her from their assemblies. She on that 
occasion invited the plebeian matrons, and, addressing them, 
said, " I dedicate this altar to Pudicitia Plebeia ; and I desire 
of you that you will as much adore Chastity as the men do 
Honour, that this temple may be frequented by purer vota- 
ries, if possible, than that of Pudicitia Patricia." In both 
temples no matron was permitted to sacrifice, unless she had 
an unblemished character, and had been but once married ; 
such matrons being honoured with the corona pudicitice, or 
crown of chastity. 

Chastity is usually represented under the figure of a 
Roman matron, in whom this virtue was supposed to reside 
in its utmost perfection. She has her veil, and is in the 
modest attitude of putting it over her face. 

Health, or Safety, salus, was much honoured by the 
Romans. The Greeks worshipped her under the name of 



INFERNAL REGIONS. 



115 



Hygeia. The place of her worship at Rome was on the 
Mons Quirinalis, where she had not only a temple, but in it 
a celebrated statue, with medicinal herbs. 

Contumely, in the Greek Ybris, and Impudentia An\e- 
dia, two goddesses worshipped by the Athenians under the 
form of partridges, from a supposed similarity in their nature. 

Fortune, Fortuna, had innumerable temples dedicated 
to her under different appellations. She was distinguished 
by the Romans into male and female, Firilis and Muliebris. 
Ancus Martins, king of the Romans, was the first who dedi- 
cated a temple to Fortinia Firilis, or Manly Fortune, because 
courage, no less than good luck, is necessary for the ob- 
taining the victory. She was called Muliebris, or womanly, 
because the mother and wife of Coriolanus saved the city 
of Rome. St. Augustine observes, that when her image was 
consecrated in their presence, it is said to have repeated 
these words twice, " Ladies, you have dedicated me as you 
ought ;" yet it was not lawful for all matrons to touch this 
image, only those who had been married twice. 

Painters usually represented this goddess in a female 
habit, with a bandage before her eyes, to show that she acts 
without discrimination, and standing on a wheel, to denote 
her inconstancy. They also assigned a cornucopia to her, 
and the helm of a ship, to show that she distributes riches, 
and governs the affairs of the world. 

Silence was worshipped both by the Egyptians and the 
Romans. Harpocraies was the god of Silence among the 
former ; Angeronia and Tacita among the latter, whose 
image, as they say, stood upon the altar of the goddess 
Volupia, with its mouth tied up and sealed, because they who 
endure their cares with silence and patience, procure to 
themselves thereby the greatest pleasure. 



CHAPTER XLVII. 

INFERNAL REGIONS. 

The Infernal Regions, among the Greeks and Romans, 
comprehended not only hell, or a place of punishment, as is 



116 



INFERNAL REGIONS. 



now understood by the term, but also the abodes of the dead, 
good, bad, and indifferent. 

The rivers to be passed over by the dead, on their entrance 
into the infernal regions, are feigned to have been four; 
namely, Acheron, over which Charon was supposed to ferry 
the dead ; Styx, who was said to be the daughter of Oceanus, 
and obtained the prerogative, that every oath sworn by the 
gods in her name should be inviolate ; Cocytus, which sent 
forth a hollow sound, like lamentation, as it flowed ; and 
Phlegethon, which were streams of fire. 

The infernal regions have been divided, according to the 
description of Virgil, into five different regions. To the 
first, or previous region, Virgil assigns two sorts of inha- 
bitants, namely, the real evils and distresses of human life, 
want, diseases, grief, old age, discord, war, and dishonest 
pleasures of the wicked ; and next to those, the creatures of 
the imagination, the centaurs, Scyllas, harpies, and giants, 
which were supposed to haunt these places. 

The second region was the region of waters, of which 
Styx, or the Hateful Passage, was the principal part, as 
before mentioned. 

' The third region was Erebus, in which Virgil places in- 
fants, as not deserving death, persons condemned to death 
without cause, suicides, and persons whose lives had been 
shortened either by love or war. 

In this region was Cerberus, the three-headed watch-dog 
of hell, whose office it was to prevent the living from enter- 
ing, who ought not to be admitted. Near to him was the 
seat of Minos, who directed each person to the particular 
part in which he was to reside, as before observed. He sat 
in the palace of Pluto and Proserpine. Part of this region 
was distinguished by the name of the Fields of Lamenta- 
tion. 

The fourth region was called Tartarus, or the Region of 
Torments, which was feigned to be the abode of those who 
had been guilty of great crimes. According to Virgil, it 
begins with a city encompassed with fire, and is guarded 
by one of the Furies, where Rhadamanthus is said to 
reside. 

Among those who, as the poets feign, had been condemned 



INFERNAL REGIONS. 



117 



to this horrid region, the most remarkable are, Tantalus, 
already mentioned, the Danaides, Tityus, Phlegyas, Ixion, 
Sisyphus, and the Giants. 

The Danaides, or fifty daughters of Danaus, who all, ex- 
cept one, slew their husbands on their wedding night, were 
doomed to draw water in sieves from a well, until they had 
filled a vessel full of holes. 

The fifth region was Elysium, or the abode of the good 
and the happy. 

Beyond the regions of Tartarus and Elysium we are told 
there was a river called Lethe, from the Greek lethe, forget- 
fulness, because whoever drank of it were supposed to forget 
all things passed, whence it was called " the "Water of Ob- 
livion." The pious souls, after passing many ages, or, 
according to Virgil, a thousand years, in the Elysian Fields, 
were supposed to drink of this water, and, passing into new 
bodies, to return into the world again. 

The circumstances of the deluge form the groundwork of 
all the legends in the Greek and Roman mythology respect- 
ing the infernal regions. The hateful waters of the Styx 
were the waters of the ocean, or the central abyss, near which 
the ancients placed their Tartarus, from which, as we are 
told by the inspired penman, issued the streams that prin- 
cipally occasioned the catastrophe of the deluge. 

Jupiter is said, on making a libation of the waters of Styx, 
to have sworn a tremendous oath before he commenced the 
war of the Titans and Giants, which oath evidently refers to 
the oath of the Almighty that he would no more destroy the 
world by a flood ; accordingly, Iris, the rainbow, is repre- 
sented by Hesiod as hovering over the broad surface of 
the ocean when this oath of Jupiter was taken, which is a 
farther correspondence with the Mosaic account of this 
transaction. 

It is also worthy of observation that Virgil, in describing 
the descent of iEneas into the infernal regions, speaks of a 
golden tree growing on the banks of the Styx, from which, 
led by two doves, he plucked a branch, and, presenting it to 
the stern ferryman, Charon, was without hesitation wafted 
over. This branch, and its efficacy in obtaining for the hero 
what he wanted, by the assistance of the doves, brings fully 



118 



ARGONAUTIC EXPEDITION. 



to our mind the olive branch in the mouth of the dove, by 
which Noah knew that the waters had abated. 

The other rivers before mentioned were but branches of 
the great Stygian lake. According to Suidas, Acheron was 
the abyss. Cocytus and Lethe derive their respective names 
from the loud lamentations of despair which were heard 
during the increase of the waters, and the oblivion of death. 
Phlegethon, the river of fire, which appears to have been 
the fiction of Virgil and later poets among the Romans, 
was an embellishment, in all probability borrowed from the 
language of our Saviour as to the place of torment prepared 
for impenitent sinners; more especially, as Strabo adds that 
the Telchines, who were magicians, sprinkled the Stygian 
waves with brimstone, in order to kill men and animals. 



CHAPTER XLVIII. 

THE ARGONAUTIC EXPEDITION. 

The Argonautic Expedition was so called from its having 
been undertaken in a ship called the Argo, for the purpose 
of recovering from Colchis an imaginary fleece, which was 
known by the name of the golden fleece. Jason, the son of 
iEson, king of Thessaly, was the leader of this expedition, 
in which he got the choicest spirits of the age to join him, 
who were called Argonauts. 

Of this expedition, so famous in mythology and history, 
there is nothing authentic in the story which can be relied 
on, although many have thought that it was founded on a 
real event in Grecian history ; yet the more generally re- 
ceived opinion is, that if there were any thing real in it, 
Greece was not, as the Greeks would have us believe, the 
place where it happened. Among the many contradictions 
and inconsistencies with which their story abounds, that 
which relates to the ship Argo is the most remarkable, for 
while they represent the Argo as the first ship which was 
ever built in the world, and built by themselves, yet they 



EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY. 



119 



relate that the king of Colchis had a fleet when' Jason arrived 
there. 

The story of the Argo was either taken in a direct manner 
from the Scripture account of Noah's ark, or indirectly from 
the Egyptians, who had their ship, also called Argo, answer- 
ing to the Argha of the Hindoos, both of which were tradi- 
tionary of the universal deluge. As the Greeks omitted 
nothing which could serve to embellish their stories, we find 
that they introduced the dove, as performing an office 
similar to that which is assigned to it in holy writ, which is 
also preserved in the legends of the Egyptians and Hindoos. 



CHAPTER XLIX. 

EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY. 

The first gods of the Egyptians were named Phtha, 
Cneph, Neith, and Athor, the three first of which were only 
personifications of the divine attributes. 

Phtha was supposed by some to be the representative of 
the Supreme Being, and that the sun was his symbol ; but 
the Greeks supposed him to be the element of fire, and from 
that conceived their fables respecting Haephestus, orVulcan, 
as well as Prometheus. By Greek and Latin writers he is 
commonly rendered by the respective names of Haephestus 
and Vulcan. It is also doubtful whether he was the oldest 
of theii deities : some make him to have been produced out 
of Cneph by an egg. Manetho says that Phtha was the first 
king of Egypt, and after him reigned the sun, by which it 
was understood that he was lord and ruler of all. 

Cneph, or Knuph, a deity worshipped particularly at 
Thebais, was considered as the sovereign intellectual prin- 
ciple by which the universe was formed. He is said to have 
been represented in the shape of a man of a dark blue com- 
plexion, holding a girdle and a sceptre, with a royal plume 
on his head, and thrusting forth an egg out of his mouth, 
whence another god proceeded, whom they called Phtha. 



120 



EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY. 



By this representation it was intended to signify that Cneph 
was an intellectual being, difficult to be found out, hidden 
and invisible, the giver of life, and the king of all things. 
He was supposed to be moved altogether in a spiritual 
manner, which was signified by the feather on his head ; and 
the egg proceeding from his mouth was interpreted to be 
the world. 

The symbol of this deity was a serpent, called by the 
Greeks Agathodcemon, which was itself also an object of wor- 
ship. A temple was dedicated to Cneph in the isle of 
Elephantis. 

Neith is said to have been the wife of Phtha, and to have 
represented the wisdom of God. The Greeks took their 
idea of Minerva from her, and give us an inscription on 
the gate of her temple, " I am that which is, which shall be, 
and which has been : no mortal has lifted up my veil." 

Athor was the goddess of Night or Darkness, which pre- 
ceded the creation, and which the Egyptians established as 
the first principle. From this source, if not directly from 
the Bible, the Greeks gathered their notions respecting 
Chaos and Nox. 

This account of the early mythology of the Egyptians, 
which approaches so near to the truth, was, without doubt, 
fabricated by those who, being the descendants of the 
patriarch, Ham, conld not be ignorant of the one true God. 
This is, moreover, confirmed by their account of the creation. 

In a book ascribed to Hermes Trismegistus occurs the 
following passage on this subject. " In the beginning there 
was a boundless darkness in the abyss, but water and an 
intelligent ethereal spirit acted with divine power in the 
midst of chaos. Then a holy light issued forth, and the 
elements were compacted together with sand of a moist sub- 
stance. Lastly, the whole frame of productive nature was 
by all the gods distributed in proper order." 

The Egyptian deities above mentioned were after a time 
superseded by others of a less spiritual character ; namely, 
Osiris, Isis, Typhon, Nephthys, Bubastis, Buto, Harpo- 
crates, Anubis, Mendes, Serapis, Thoth, Nilus, and Ca- 
nopus. 

Osiris was, according to the Greeks, by whom tbis deity 



EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGf, 



121 



was adopted, the son of Jupiter and Niobe, and for a long 
time king of the Argives, but leaving his kingdom, went 
into Egypt, and there, after having conferred great benefits 
on his Egyptian subjects, obtained divine honours. In the 
genealogy of the Egyptian gods he is described as the son 
of Phre, or Re, the sun, by Rhea, his wife, and is said to 
have married his sister Isis, who, according to the Greek 
fable, was Io. 

Osiris is said not to have confined his benefits to Egypt, 
but to have travelled over all the world to improve the con- 
dition of mankind ; and that, while absent, Isis, his wife, 
governed Egypt with such prudence that his absence was 
scarcely felt. On his return, Typhon, his brother, is said to 
have conspired with seventy-two others against him, and 
having got him into an ark, or chest, by a stratagem, shut 
him up therein, and cast him into the sea. Isis sought him 
a great while, and having at length found him in the chest, 
she laid him in a monument in an island near to Memphis, 
which is fabled to have been encompassed by the lake Styx. It 
having come to the knowledge of Typhon where the body of 
Osiris was laid, he caused it to be taken up, and cut into 
thirty pieces, and scattered abroad ; whereupon Isis went in 
search of the mangled parts, and buried such as she found 
in different places. Temples were erected in honour of 
Osiris wherever a limb was found. 

Osiris is said to have come to life again under the form 
of the bull Apis, of which more will be said hereafter. 

Osiris and Isis are the two principal deities in whom 
were comprehended the chief deities of the Greeks, or, to 
speak more properly, they possessed the attributes ascribed 
to the principal deities of the Greeks and Romans. 

Osiris was the prototype of Jupiter as the supreme god 
and lord of the day ; that of Bacchus, as a lawgiver, travel- 
ling about to dispense his favours on mankind ; that of 
Pluto, as presiding over the realms below ; and lastly, that 
of Sol, the sun. In this latter character he is sometimes 
represented with an eye and a sceptre, to denote his power 
and providence. 

As Ammon, called by the Greeks Jupiter Ammon, Osiris 
is said to have represented in the Egyptian mythology the 

L 



122 



EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY. 



sun when in the sign Aries, commencing the vernal equi^ 
nox. In this character he is to be seen with a radiated 
crown, and the horns of the ram, on his head, and in his 
hand a trident, or sceptre, entwined by a serpent. A hawk 
was sacred to him, as it was to Apollo, before mentioned. 



CHAPTER L. 

EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY {continued), 

Isis appears to have been more generally worshipped 
than Osiris, if we may judge from the number of inscrip- 
tions and representations of her on marbles, and was, con- 
fessedly, the prototype of more deities. Apuleius introduces 
Isis as giving this account of herself : " I am Nature, the 
mother of all things, mistress of the elements, the begin- 
ning of ages, the sovereign of gods, the queen of the Manes, 
the first of the heavenly natures, the uniform face of the 
gods and goddesses. It is I who govern the luminous fir- 
mament of heaven, the salutary breezes of the sea, and the 
horrid silence of heaven, with a nod. My divinity alone, 
though multiform, is honoured with different ceremonies, 
and under different names. The Phrygians call me the 
Pessinuntian Mother of the gods ; the Athenians, the Ce- 
cropian Mother ; the Cyprians, the Paphian Venus ; the 
Sicilians, the Stygian Proserpine ; the Cretans, Diana Die-, 
tynna ; the Eleusinians, the Old Goddess Ceres ; some 
Juno ; some Bellona ; others Hecate ; and others, again, 
Rhamnusia. The oriental Ethiopians and Egyptians 
honour me with peculiar ceremonies, and call me by my 
true name, Isis." 

As goddess of the earth, she was the prototype of the 
goddess Cybele. In her wanderings in search of Osiris, we 
recognise the Grecian Demeter and Latin Ceres, wandering 
in search of Proserpine. As goddess of the moon, we trace 
her in the Grecian Silene and Latin Luna ; and as the god- 
dess of the infernal regions, in the Grecian Persephone and 



EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY. 



123 



the Latin Proserpine. She appears also to have been wor- 
shipped as the punisher of the wicked, under the name of 
Titnrambo, or Brinio, answering to the character of the 
Grecian Hecate. 

The representations of Isis were as various as her cha- 
racters ; her head crowned with towers, as Cybele is to be 
seen, sometimes holding a systnim, as Cybele is made to 
hold a cymbal ; sometimes bearing a flaming torch, as 
Ceres is represented with, during her supposed wanderings ; 
her body covered with paps, to denote fertility, as Diana of 
Ephesus is represented ; the crescent, or horns, on her 
head, to denote the increase and wane of the moon, as is 
ascribed to the Grecian Luna, or Diana. 

Her rites, as well as those of Osiris, were in many re- 
spects similar to the Eieusinian mysteries celebrated in 
honour of Ceres, the orgies in honour of Bacchus, and the 
festival in honour of the Grecian Adonis, or the Syrian 
Tiiammuz. 

Osiris, as the sun, and Isis, as the moon, were supposed 
to have great influence on the fertilizing effects of the Xile, 
for which they were particularly honoured by the Egyp- 
tians, the inundations of the Xile being called the marriage 
of Osiris and Isis. 

The account of these two deities directs our attention 
to the period of the deluge, both before and after the 
flood. 

The conspiracy of Typhon against Osiris is represented 
by the Greeks as the war of the Giants and Titans against 
Jupiter. The giants, who are said to have been the sons of 
Coelus and Terra, and the Titans the sons of Ccelus. or 
T.tan and Terra, are described as monsters of a prodigious 
size, and having a hundred hands ; who, being puffed up with 
pride and impudence, rebelled against Jupiter, and strove 
to depose him, in which attempt they heaped mountains 
upon mountains in order to scale heaven. We here recog- 
nise the men of extraordinary stature and extreme wicked- 
ness mentioned in the Mosaic account, who made a similar 
audacious attempt to scale heaven by building tower upon 
tower. Among those who stood foremost in their oppo- 
sition to Jupiter was this Typhon, or Typhosus, of the 



124. 



EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY. 



Egyptians. But the Egyptian fable seems to point more 
immediately to the patriarch Noah and the deluge. 

Osiris is described by Plutarch as a husbandman, legis- 
lator, and zealous advocate for the worship of the gods. He 
also adds, that there were two festivals celebrated in honour 
of him, one to commemorate his entrance into the ark, and 
the other his entrance into the moon ; both of which events 
refer to the entrance of Noah into the ark. As Typhon, 
according to the interpretation of the ancients, signified the 
sea, his compelling Osiris to enter an ark, imported that 
Noah was compelled by the waters of the deluge to take 
refuge in the ark ; this compulsory entrance having taken 
place on the 17th day of the month Athyr, the very day on 
which Noah is said to have embarked. 

The entrance of Osiris into the moon, as referring to the 
same event, is explained in this manner. By the moon is 
here understood a ship ; for the emblem of Isis, the goddess 
of the moon, was a ship ; and, moreover, the Celtic word 
Eiss, whence is made Isis, signifies a ship ; wherefore, in 
the processions at the festival of these deities, the figure of 
a man in a boat or vessel was carried to represent Osiris in 
the ark, and Isis as the ark itself. Osiris was also some- 
times represented as a child sitting on a lotus, which, being 
an aquatic plant, floating on the water, was a fit emblem of 
Noah's ark. 

That the Egyptians had preserved the tradition of the 
deluge is evident from the words of Plato, who says, " that 
the Egyptian priests recounted to Solon, out of their sacred 
books, the history of the universal flood, which happened 
long before the particular inundations known to the Gre- 
cians. The Egyptians are also said to have had eight pri- 
mitive great gods, who were represented not standing on dry 
land, but as sailing in a ship, which evidently alludes to the 
number of persons saved in the ark. 

Osiris is supposed to have represented Mizraim, the son 
of Ham, and the first king of Egypt. His name is evidently 
derivable from Mizraim, Misor, Isor, Osiris. 



EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY. 



125 



CHAPTER LI. 
Egyptian mythology (continued). 

Typhon was the monster before mentioned, who married 
his sister Nepthys. Their attributes were opposed to 
those of Osiris and Isis : to the latter were ascribed every 
thing fertile and fertilizing, but to the former every thing 
barren, unproductive, or noxious. 

Horus, or Onus, the son of Osiris and Isis, succeeded 
his mother on the throne of Egypt, after having conquered 
Typhon, and put him to death. He was considered to be 
the sun, or lord of the day, like Osiris, and identified by the 
Greeks as their Apollo. Horus was the symbol of light, as 
the name imports, from the Hebrew aor, light, and is usually 
represented as a juvenile figure, to denote the solar efflux, 
which is perpetually renewed and renewing. Being one of 
the eight great gods, he was sometimes represented as 
sailing in a ship. 

Bubastis, said by some to be the sister of Horus, but 
according to others, Isis herself, in the character of the god- 
dess of parturition, whom the Greeks identify with their 
Diana Ilythia, and the Romans with their Lucina. A city, 
called by her name, was the principal seat of her worship, 
and a festival celebrated in honour of her in that city was 
one of the most solemn in Egypt. It was celebrated on the 
third day of every lunar month, because she was supposed 
to represent the moon when it was three days old. 

Buto, or Butos, is said to have been one of the primitive 
eight gods of the Egyptians, who was particularly worshipped 
at Buto, an island called after her, where she is fabled to 
have concealed Horus when pursued by Typhon. She was 
the Latona of the Greeks, and the floating island corre- 
sponded to the island Delos, before mentioned, where was a 
celebrated oracle. 

Harpocrates, the god of Silence, is said by some to 
have been the son of Isis ; by others, of Isis and Osiris. 
His statues were usually placed in the temples, near to the 
images of Osiris and Isis. to intimate, as Varro and St. 
l 3 



126 



EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY. 



Augustine suppose, that the people should observe silenp^ 
and not divulge that these divinities had ever been mortis. 
He was exhibited under the form of a young man, with 
one finger on his mouth. 

Anubis, the supposed offspring of Osiris and Nepthys, 
was exposed by the latter at his birth, but saved by Isis. 
His office was to be the harbinger of these deities, and also 
the conductor of the souls of the dead to their place of des- 
tination, in which he was the prototype of the Grecian 
Mercury, whence he got the name of Hermanubis. 

He is represented under the form of a man, with a dog's 
head, holding a palm-branch in one hand, and the caduceus 
in the other, round which two snakes are twisted in his 
hand. Beneath his feet is a crocodile, under his arm a 
globe, and by his side the head of an ox, bearing the Egyp- 
tian modius. 

The story of this deity being exposed by his mother, and 
afterwards saved by Isis, very probably refers to the same 
circumstances in the life of Moses. The caduceus, with 
the serpents, evidently refers to the rod of Moses, as before 
observed. The coupling the dog with this deity reminds us 
of what has already been mentioned, that the name of Caleb, 
the companion of Moses, signifies in the Hebrew a dog. 

Mendes, according to Herodotus, was esteemed to be one 
of the eight great gods of the Egyptians, and was reckoned 
by the Mendesians to have been the oldest of them all. He 
was said to be the companion of Osiris, and being com- 
monly represented with the ears, legs, and horns of a goat, 
the Greeks and Romans ascribed all the legends respecting 
him to their god Pan. He is further said, by Hygenus, to 
have metamorphosed himself into a monster, compounded 
of a goat and a fish, in order to escape the attack of the 
giant Typhon, in the war of the Titans. 

Serapis is supposed to have been Osiris, or rather his 
representative Apis, who when dead was put into soros, a 
coffin ; but according to others, Serapis was not originally 
an Egyptian deity, having been brought into that country 
from Sinope by Ptolemy Lagus, in consequence of a dream. 
His image was erected in a temple, built for that purpose, 
at Alexandria, and called Serapeum, which is said to have 



EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY. 



127 



exceeded in magnificence all the temples of that age, except 
the Capitol at Rome. 

Serapis was the god of the infernal regions, who was re- 
presented with a three-headed creature at his feet, answering 
to the Cerberus of the Greeks and Romans, and a flasket or 
bushel on his head, and a serpent twisted round his body. 
The bushel has been supposed to allude to the patriarch 
Joseph, who measured out the corn to the people of Egypt ; 
but if the story concerning his late introduction into the 
Egyptian mythology be correct, then this may allude to the 
corn which was sold by Ptolemy to the Sinopians, for the 
purchase of their deity. Pausanias says that Serapis was the 
name given to the sun when he was in the winter solstice, 
and remaining long under the earth, he passes over, and 
enlightens unknown regions. Human sacrifices are said to 
have been offered to Serapis in the time of the Ptolemies. 
Serapis was worshipped not only in Egypt, but also at 
Athens and Rome, at which latter place he had a temple in 
common with Isis. 



CHAPTER LII. 

EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY (continued). 

Thoth, Tautus, Thoyth, a celebrated mythological cha- 
racter among the Egyptians, was, as the inventor of letters 
and sciences, honoured as a god by the Greeks, under the 
name of Hermes, and by the Romans under that of Mer- 
cury. Some suppose that there were two persons, who lived 
at the distance of an age from each other ; but, according to 
Jablonski, the word Thoth signifies a pillar, and in that case, 
it refers to those pillars which were set up in those days to 
record the events of history and the discoveries of science. 
Manetho says that the column was engraved by the first 
Thoth, in sacred language, and in hieroglyphical characters ; 
and that, after the deluge, the son of the second Thoth 
translated the inscription into the language of the priests, 
and wrote them in sacerdotal characters. We are also told 



128 



EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY. 



that the Egyptians, being apprised of the approach of the 
deluge, were fearful lest the divine worship should be effaced 
from the memory of man; wherefore, to preserve it, they 
dug subterranean winding passages, on the walls of which 
they engraved their knowledge. Josephus, the historian, 
makes mention of such pillars, which he ascribes to Seth. 

Thoth, the elder, is said by some to have been the son, 
and by others the companion and counsellor, of Osiris, and 
that the ibis was sacred to him. The representations of 
him, for the most part, give him the form of Anubis, but he 
is depicted as holding a lantern in his hand, to denote that 
he thereby throws the light of philosophy around. The title 
of Hermes Trismegistus, or thrice greatest, is supposed to 
have been given to the last Thoth. 

Nilus, the Nile, the great river-god of the Egyptians, is 
represented with the cornucopia, the sphinx lying at his 
feet, and a number of little children playing about him. 
The cornucopia, the ordinary emblem of fertility, was most 
appropriately given to this deity. The sphinx is supposed 
to allude to the statue of that monster placed on the bank 
of the river, or to the mystic knowledge so much cultivated 
in Egypt. The little children, sixteen in number, denote 
the increase of the Nile to the height of sixteen cubits. On 
one statue the water is represented as flowing from under 
his robe, to denote that the source of the river is not yet 
discovered. Of all the festivals the Egyptians celebrated in 
honour of this deity, that of opening the canals was the 
most solemn and magnificent. This festival continues to 
be celebrated even now, though with less magnificence. 

Canopus was the god of water in general, who was repre- 
sented by a vase perforated on all sides, called Hydria, the 
origin of which was as follows. The Chaldseans boasted the 
superiority of the god of fire, which they worshipped, and 
challenged the Egyptians to a contest. The latter, on that 
occasion, taking a vessel, bored it full of holes, and then 
stopped the holes with wax ; after which they filled the 
vessel with water, and when the fire of the Chaldseans was 
applied to it, the wax melted, and the water coming out, 
extinguished the fire : in this manner the god Canopus 
gained the victory over the g-od of the Chaldaeans. 



EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY. 



129 



To these deities may be added Sem, who was the proto- 
type of the Grecian Hercules, and Papremis, that of Mars, 
or the god of war, who was worshipped under the figure of 
the hippopotamus. At Heliopolis, and at Butos, sacrifices 
alone are said to have been offered to this deity, but at 
Papremis, which was called after him, there was a festival 
celebrated every year to his honour. 



CHAPTER LIII. 

EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY (continued). 

There were two remarkable features in the mythology 
of the Egyptians, namely, their worship not only of animals, 
but also of inanimate objects, and their notion about the 
metempsychosis. 




HIPPOPOTAMUS. GECKO. LOIUS, CROCODJXB. 



Among the animals which they worshipped, there were of 
quadrupeds — the ox, dog, cat, wolf, ram, goat, deer, mon- 
key, ichneumon, shrew-mouse, lion, and hippopotamus. 

Of birds — the hawk, crow, vulture, eagle, ibis, goose, and 
the fabulous phcenix. 



130 



EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY. 



Of reptiles — the crocodile, gecko, and various kinds of 
serpents. 

Of insects — the scarabseus and beetle. 

Of fishes — the oxyrhynchus, lepedotus, phagri, and mse- 
otae, which were considered as prophetic messengers of the 
approaching inundation of the Nile. 

Among the plants or vegetables — the lotus, before men- 
tioned, peach-tree, laurel, heliotrope, acacia, onion, and 
lentils of different kinds. 

Among the minerals, they appear to have attributed cer- 
tain divine virtues to some stones, called solar and lunar 
stones, and the selenite, which was supposed to imitate the 
phases of the moon. These, in all probability, gave rise to 
the talismans so much regarded by the Arabians in after 
ages. 

The Egyptians paid extraordinary honours to some ani- 
mals ; as the Bull, under the names of Apis, Mnevis, or 
Ormphis, the Cat, Crocodile, Ibis, and the Hippopotamus, 
supposed by some to be the Behemoth of the Scriptures. 

The Apis and Mnevis were both sacred to Osiris, who is 
supposed to have come to life again, under the form of a 
bull. The god Apis had his residence at Memphis, and 
Mnevis had his at Heliopolis, or the City of the Sun, which 
was otherwise called On. Both were guarded with great 
care, and worshipped with great reverence ; but particularly 
the Apis, who, when he died, was replaced by another bull, 
as like him in regard to his colour and spots as could possibly 
be procured. His colour was black, with a white spot on his 
forehead. The discovery of a new Apis, who was considered 
as a revivification of the preceding deity, was a matter of 
great rejoicing. Apis is fabled by the Greeks to have been 
a king of Argos, and a descendant of Inachus, Phoroneus, 
or Jason ; and it is said that he was worshipped as a god, in 
Italy ; and also that he was looked upon to be the same as 
Serapis. 

Other animals had places set apart for them, peculiarly 
for their sepulture. According to Herodotus, cats, when 
dead, were carried to sacred buildings, and, after being em- 
balmed, were buried in the city of Bubastis. The ibis was 
removed to Hermopolis; the hawk, and shrew-mouse, to 



EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY. 



131 



Butos. The dog and ichneumon were buried where they 
happened to die ; so the wolf and the hear, but not in conse- 
crated places, like the dog. 

The people of Ombros are said to have dug tanks for the 
crocodiles, and to have fed them with great care, teaching 
them to obey a particular sign. Subterranean chambers 
were prepared for the asps, under many of the temples, in 
which they were fed with the fat of oxen. Another kind of 
serpent was preserved in a tower, and the priests every day 
placed cakes in its chamber. The asp was supposed to be 
employed by the goddess Isis, as her minister of vengeance 
on the impious. 

To kill any sacred animal was considered a horrible 
offence ; and although committed by pure accident, yet it 
was sure to be punished with instant death, at the hands of 
the enraged multitude. 

The metempsychosis, or the migration of souls from one 
body to another, was another peculiar feature in the mytho- 
logy of the Egyptians, which was, in all probability, con- 
nected with, if not originating in, their veneration for their 
beloved Osiris, whom they were pleased to keep among 
them, although only in the form of a bull. 




EGYPTIAN TS^APEIi£. 



The Egyptians appear to have had their tutelary gods, so 
well known by the Romans under the name of Penates, or 



132 chaldjean or Babylonian mythology. 

Lares, supposed to have been the Teraphim, or gods o! 
Laban, mentioned in Scripture. They were commonly 
represented under the human figure, with the head of some 
animal, particularly that of the dog, which, for its fidelity 
and watchfulness, was supposed most fitted to perform 
the office of a tutelary deity. The head of a lion was some- 
times chosen, because the lion was also thought to be 
watchful. 

As the Teraphim are mentioned in Scripture in con- 
nexion with Chaldgea, they, no doubt, formed a part of the 
Chaldean and Babylonian mythology, although there are 
no remains of Chaldsean antiquity to determine what they 
were. 



CHAPTER LIV. 

CHALDEAN OR BABYLONIAN MYTHOLOGY. 

The Chaldseans, as they say, acquired their knowledge 
from a sea-monster, called Oannes, having a human head 
and human feet, as well as a fish's head and a fish's tail. 
He is fabled to have ascended from the waters of the Red 
Sea, and conveyed his instructions, in a human voice, to the 
assembled multitudes, but at night retired from the land, 
and concealed himself within the sea. .From him they are 
said to have learnt, that there was a time when all things 
were darkness, and water, and confusion. In the midst of 
this chaos, resided Omoroca, a dsemon giantess, whom 
Belus slew, and from her body formed the earth, and from 
her skull the arch of heaven. He next divided the dark- 
ness from the light, and the earth from the sea, after which 
he placed the starry host in the heavens. Man was formed 
from the dust of the earth, mixed with the water of the 
creation, endowed with intellect, and made partaker of 
divine reason. 

The Oannes here mentioned is admitted, on all hands, to 
have been the patriarch Noah, whose going into and coming 
out of the ark is thus disguised. Mythologists feign that 



CHALDEAN OR BABYLONIAN MYTHOLOGY. 133 



there were not less than four of this name, which may pos- 
sibly refer to Noah and his three sons. One named Odacon, 
is obviously a corruption of Dagon. The correspondence 
of this account of the creation with the Mosaic account is 
far too obvious to need remark. 

As the worship of the sun and other heavenly bodies was 
the commencement of false worship, so the Chaldeans, who 
were the priests and philosophers of Babylon, are among 
the first on record who reduced this kind of mythology to a 
system. They admitted one supreme being, but appear to 
have considered the sun, moon, and stars, either as his 
residence, or as emanations of the divine intelligence. 
They accordingly ascribed powerful influences to these 
bodies, and professed to foretell future events from the signs 
of the heavens ; from this error to the still greater error of 
admitting them as independent deities, the step was very 
small. 

The two chief deities of the Babylonians, in after-times, 
were Baal, and Baaltis or Baalah. Baal, which signi- 
fies in the Hebrew as much as lord, was the representative 
of the sun ; and Baaltis, or the Queen of Heaven, repre- 
sented the moon, answering to the Osiris and Isis of the 
Egyptians. 

Baal, or the sun, was first deified in the person of Bel or 
Belus, the founder of the Babylonian empire, to whom a 
splendid temple was erected, which is looked upon to have 
been the original Tower of Babel. According to Herodo- 
tus, it consisted of eight towers, one above the other, a 
number which is supposed to allude to the number of per- 
sons saved in the ark. The form of the tower was pyramidal, 
as is supposed, in imitation of the tapering flame of fire. 
This tower was used for the twofold purpose of astronomical 
observation and idolatrous worship ; and it was enlarged by 
Nebuchadnezzar, with the addition of several buildings, in- 
closed in a quadrangle. 

This temple contained several statues or idols, together 
with a vast number of sacred vessels, all of the same metal. 
One idol, probably of Baal himself, was forty feet in height ; 
and it has been conjectured that this was the statue which 
Nebuchadnezzar caused to be set up in the plains of Dura. 
M 



134 SYRIAN AND PHOENICIAN MYTHOLOGY. 



Several Babylonian kings took their names from this 
deity, as Belshazzar, Pelaser, &c. From Baal, Bel, Pel, or 
Pul, it is probable that the Grecian Apollo derived his 
name. 

Merodach, another deity of the Babylonians, mentioned 
by Jeremiah, is supposed to have been an ancient king of 
Babylon. The name is retained in Evil-Merodach, and 
Merodach-Baladan. 

Nebo, or Nabo, is mentioned by Isaiah, in connexion 
with Bel, and is to be traced in the names of Nebuchad- 
nezzar and Nebonassar. 

Succoth-Benith, the Alytta of the Syrians, was wor- 
shipped by the Babylonians with the same impure rites. 
They called her the daughter of the sun and the heavens. 



CHAPTER LV. 

SYRIAN AND PHOENICIAN MYTHOLOGY. 

Baal was worshipped throughout Syria as well as Baby- 
lonia, particularly under a compound name, as Baal-Berith, 
Baal-Gad, Baal-Peor, Baal-Semen, Baal-Zebub. 

Baal-Berith, a god of the Sehemites, signifying, lite- 
rally, lord of the covenants, is supposed to have presided 
over alliances and oaths, much after the manner of the 
Greek Zeus orkius, or the Jupiter Pistius of the Romans. 
The idolatrous Israelites erected altars to this deity, on 
which were offered human sacrifices. 

Baal- Gad, or the God of Happiness, was a Phoenician 
deity. 

Baal-Peor, or Baal-Phegor, a god of the Moabites 
and Midianites, to which Israel is said to have joined him- 
self, is supposed by some to have been an obscene deity, 
like the Priapus of the Romans. As his votaries are said 
to have eaten of the offerings of the dead, he may also have 
had the attributes of the Grecian Pluto. His priests are 



SYRIAN AND PHOENICIAN MYTHOLOGY. 135 

said to have offered human sacrifices, and to have eaten 
likewise of the victims. 

Baal-Semen, or Samin, a deity of the Phoenicians, who 
worshipped the sun under this name, in the time of droughts. 

Baal-Zebub, or Beelzebub, a god of the Ekronites, called 
in Scripture the Prince of Devils. His name is rendered 
the Lord of Flies, which has been thought to be a mock 
appellation given to him by the Jews ; but it is probable he 
was so styled for the same reason as Hercules was wor- 
shipped under the name of Apomyius, or the fly- driver. 
He is sometimes represented under the figure of a fly. 

Rimmon was a god of the Syrians, of whom mention is 
made in Scripture. He is supposed to be the same as Baal. 
He had a temple at Damascus. 

Adad was, according to Macrobius, a deity worshipped 
Dy the Assyrians or Syrians, as the greatest or highest ; the 
name signifying the one, or only. Ben-Hadad received, 
according to Josephus, divine honours after his death. 

At Emesa, or the ancient Hamath, a deity was wor- 
shipped under the name of Asunah, to whom were attri- 
buted the various figures of an ape, a lamb, or a satyr. 
Another deity was worshipped in the same city, under the 
name of Elagabalus, called by the Greeks Heliogabalus, 
and under the figure of a huge black stone, having hiero- 
glyphics of the sun upon it. This stone was said to have 
fallen from heaven : a fiction of which the Greeks and 
Romans made abundant use in their mythology. 

The people of Palmyra are said to have worshipped the 
sun and moon, under the names of Aglibolus and Malech- 
belus. The former of these corresponds with the Elaga- 
balus, just mentioned; the latter, though a male deity, is 
supposed to represent the moon, in the same manner as the 
Romans afterwards had their Lunus as well as Luna, for 
the moon. 

Dagon was a celebrated god of the Philistines, who had 
a splendid temple at Gaza, and was represented as upwards 
man, and downwards fish. So the goddess Derceto, also 
called Atergatis, was worshipped at Ascalon, where she 
had a celebrated temple, under the form of a woman, ending 
in fish from the waist downwards. 



136 SYRIAN AND PHCENICIAN MYTHOLOGY* 



Dagon was, as before observed, a counterpart of the Chal- 
dean Cannes, and, like him, the representative of the patri- 
arch Noah, under the apt emblematical figure of a merman. 




DAGON. 



For the same reason, the goddess Derceto is supposed to 
represent the ark, in which Noah and bis family were pre- 
served. The Egyptians had the same representation on some 
of their coins ; whence, in all probability, the Greeks 
borrowed the idea of their tritons and nereides. 

Jupiter was worshipped at Gaza, under the name of 
Marnas, or Maranasis, which signifies, in the Syriac, the 
Lord of Men. His temple, which they considered as the 
finest in the world, was a circular building, rich with costly 
marble, surrounded by a double ornamented colonnade, 
leading from one into the other. 

Moloch was the idol of the Ammonites and Philistines, 
particularly mentioned in Scripture for the cruel rites with 
which he was worshipped by his votaries who caused their 
children to pass through fire in honour of him. Moloch, 



SYRIAN AND PHOENICIAN MYTHOLOGY. 137 

or Malek, signifying a king, was worshipped under the form 
of a calf, or an ox, and represented the sun, the king of 
heaven. At first, the Canaanites only exposed their chil- 
dren, as soon as they were born, to the scorching rays of 
the sun, which they looked upon as a purification ; after- 
wards they kindled two fires, and caused their children to 
pass through them ; and sometimes they actually burnt their 
children, in honour of this god. In order to drown the 
cries of the sufferers, the priests made a noise with drums, 
trumpets, and shouting; whence the valley where these 
cruelties were perpetrated was called the " Vale of Tophet." 
Saturn, in his worst character, is supposed to have been 
derived from this sanguinary deity. 

The Sepharvaim burnt their children in the fire, in 
honour of their gods Anamalek and Adramalek, who were 
much such deities as the Moloch of the Ammonites. 

Mylitta, or Alitta, a goddess of the Syrians as well as 
the Babylonians, was the impure Venus of the Greeks and 
Romans. 



CHAPTER LVI. 

SYRIAN AND PHOENICIAN MYTHOLOGY (continued). 

The principal deities of Phoenicia, besides those which it 
had in common with all Syria, were Astarte and Adonis. 
According to Cicero, they reigned together in Syria, and 
were so beloved by their subjects, that they were worshipped 
after their death, and the moon and the sun were assigned 
to them as their habitations. The Greeks make Adonis to 
have been the son of Myrrha, the daughter of Cinyras, 
who fled into Arabia, and brought up her son there, until 
he was old enough to be presented at the court of Byblis, in 
Phoenicia, Here, as the poets feign, Astarte, whom they 
call the Assyrian Venus, became so desperately enamoured 
of him, that she left her accustomed retreats, to follow him ; 
and when he was killed by a wild boar, which Mars, in 
jealousy, had sent to attack him, Venus gave way to all the 
transports of grief, until she obtained from Jupiter that 
m 3 



138 SYRIAN AND PHCENICIAN MYTHOLOGY* 

Adonis should spend six months in the year with her, and 
six months in the infernal regions. 

Adonis, in the Hebrew adonai, signifying lord, was, like 
the Baal of the Chaldeans, or the Osiris of the Egyptians, 
a representative of the sun, and is supposed to be the same 
as Thammuz, mentioned in Scripture. 

There was a festival celebrated in honour of this deity, 
which commences with lamentations for his supposed death, 
and ends with rejoicings for his supposed return to life, in 
allusion, as is believed, to the supposed death of the patri- 
arch Noah, when he entered the ark at the deluge, and his 
return to life when he came out. A similar rite was ob- 
served in the festival in honour of Osiris, as well as that in 
honour of Bacchus ; but above all, in the mysteries of the 
Cabiri, which had their origin in Phoenicia. The Cabiri, 
from cabir, strong, mighty, comprehended those deities 
who were supposed to have charge of the dead, particularly 
Pluto, Proserpine, Mercury and Ceres. By Ceres was 
understood the earth, which receives the dead ; by Pluto 
and Proserpine, the infernal regions ; and Mercury, under 
the name of Casmilus or Cadmilus, was supposed to be the 
conductor of the dead into the Hades. The Greeks called 
the Cabiri the Samothracean gods, because the Cabiric 
mysteries were celebrated in the cave of Zerynthus, in the 
island of Samothrace, and from thence passed into Greece, 
and formed the groundwork of the mysteries in honour of 
Cybele, the Eleusinian mysteries, and the orgies of Bac- 
chus. An initiation into these mysteries was deemed of 
such importance, that Orpheus, Hercules, and all subse- 
quent heroes, went there to sanctify themselves, either in 
performance of a vow, or in preparation for any great 
undertaking. 

As Astarte, called in Scripture Ashteroth, represented 
the deity of the moon, we find her worship continually 
joined with that of Baal; and although she had particular 
temples at certain places, yet for the most part she was 
worshipped in sacred groves. It was also the custom to 
place tables on the roofs of houses, and also in the cross- 
ways, on which, every new moon, they spread a feast in 
honour of this deity. 



HINDOO MYTHOLOGY AND BUDDHISM. 



139 



Melcartus or Melicartus, that is, king of the city, is 
better known as the Tyrian Hercules, to whom a superb 
temple was erected in the city of Tyre, which is said to be 
as old as the city itself. To this Hercules is ascribed the 
discovery of the art of navigation, which he prosecuted with 
such success as to reach the straits of Gibraltar, whence 
the mountains on either side the shore were called the 
Pillars of Hercules, l'rom him the Greeks borrowed many 
fables, which they relate of their Hercules. 



CHAPTER LVII. 




SZZTi, BRAHilA. VISEyrOTJ. 

HINDOO MYTHOLOGY AND BUDDHISM. 

The Hindoo mythology may be divided into two parts, 
namely, the Brahminical religion and Buddhism. 



140 HINDOO MYTTIOLOGfc AND BUDDHISM. 

" The Brahminical religion derives its name from the chief 
deity among the Indians, to whom they gave the name of 
Brahm. 

The books containing the principles of their religion are 
called Vedas, and the language used by the priests, in re- 
gard to religion, is called Sanscreet. 

Their deity, Brahm, is declared to be uncreated, invisible, 
and eternal, from whom all things proceeded, and to whom 
all must return. They have no image of him, neither do 
they offer any prayer or praises to him ; but they consider 
all worship as due to those embodied personifications of 
him which are named, Brahma the creator, Vishnou the 
preserver, and Seeva the destroyer. These are represented 
as a triple deity in one ; sometimes as issuing from a fourth. 
From the close resemblance between these persons and the 
Holy Trinity, it has been thought to have been engrafted 
on their mythology from the christian doctrine, which is 
by no means improbable, since Christianity was introduced 
into those parts by St. Thomas. That they did draw from 
that source, to embellish their fictions, seems pretty evident, 
not only from the legend they have respecting Vishnou — ■ 
that he was saved amidst a promiscuous slaughter of in- 
fants, in allusion to Herod's barbarity — but also from a story 
respecting the building of the temple of Juggernaut, or 
Jugunnat'hu, which abounds in pointed allusions to different 
parts of the New as well as the Old Testament, and in 
which it is also expressly said that the gods alluded to, 
though three, are but one. 

Brahma is said to have sprung from Narayana, that is, 
the Spirit of God moving on the waters : for their account 
of the creation, as we here see from these words, corre- 
sponds with the Mosaic account, although their fictions in 
this, as in other matters, are confused, and in some respects 
inconsistent. We may gather, however, from them, that 
the elements were confusedly mixed together until they 
were separated by Brahm ; that he blew upon the waters, 
and they rose into a bubble like an egg, out of which he 
made a round ball, which he called the lower world, part 
whereof was earth, and part water. Then he created the 
sun and moon, and other heavenly bodies ; and lastly he 



BRAHMA, VISHNOU. 



141 



made man, and infused into him life, and then gave him a 
companion. Brahma, as the creator, is likewise made to 
take a part in the work of creation, and is said to have pro- 
duced the first woman, Satarupa or Iva, out of one half of 
his body, and the first man, Swayambhuva or Adima, from 
the other. From this pair were born three sons, Dachsha, 
Cardama, and Ruchi. These quarrelling, Dachsha wished 
that Cardama might ever remain a wanderer on the face of 
the earth, whereon Cardama slew Dachsha with a club, 
while performing a sacrifice. In this manner, the creation 
of Adam and Eve, and the murder of Abel, is described by 
Hindoo mythologists. "We are likewise told that Brahma 
caused the tribe or caste of the Brahmins to spring from 
his mouth; the chetri, or soldiers, from his arm ; the vaisya, 
or mercantile class, from his thigh ; the sudra, or servile 
caste, from his foot ; from his eye came the sun, and from 
his mind, the moon. He is represented with four heads, 
with which he overlooks the four quarters of the world. He 
has also four arms : in one of which he usually holds a book, 
in another a sacrificial spoon, in a third a rosary, in the 
fourth a sacrificial vase. His colour is dark red, typifying 
the matter of the earth, as also fire and the sun, which he 
represents in common with Yishnou and Seeva. 

Vishnou is depicted also with four arms, holding in one 
a bow, in another an arrow, in a third a sort of quoit, in 
the fourth a shell ; as the representative of water he is of a 
dark blue colour. 

The Hindoo shasters, or sacred writings, give an account 
of ten appearances of Vishnou, whicli they call Avatars, 
the word avatar literally signifying descent ; but from the 
manner in which these appearances are represented to have 
taken place, namely, by the assumption of a bodily form by 
this supposed deity, they have been called incarnations ; and 
bearing, as they do, so great a resemblance to the incarnation 
of our blessed Saviour, the fiction is obviously borrowed from 
that event. Nine of these incarnations are already passed. 
In the first of these, Vishnou is represented as issuing from 
the body of a fish, precisely in the same manner as the 
Philistine god, Dagon, is represented — a form which, as the 
Hindoos say, Vishnou assumed in order to preserve in an 



142 HINDOO MYTHOLOGY AND BUDDHISM. 

ark a devout person, with his family, consisting of seven 
persons besides himself, and accompanied by pairs of the 
various animals, from a flood that destroyed all the wicked. 
This Hindoo description of the deluge, which is said to 
have happened in the reign of Satyavrata, the seventh Menu, 
is embellished by similar fictions in two other of Vishnou's 
incarnations. The ninth incarnation was that of Buddha, 
of which more will be said hereafter. The tenth is still to 
come, and in some pictures of this, his last avatar, he is 
represented as a crowned conqueror, leading a white horse 
with wings, because they expect him to appear mounted on 
a white horse, like the crowned conqueror mentioned in 
Revelations. 

Seeva is represented as of a white colour, with light hair, 
and riding on a bull, which is also white. He has some- 
times eight arms, one bearing a gory head, said to be a head 
of Brahma, and others an antelope, a cup filled with blood, 
an hour-glass, a flame, club, spear, or battle-axe, &c. ; but 
he is mostly distinguished by a third eye in his forehead. 
Snakes are also twined round his arms. He has many 
names j among others, Rudra, Mahesa, and Mahadeva, &c. 



CHAPTER LVIIL 

HINDOO MYTHOLOGY AND BUDDHISM (continued). 

Each of these three deities, Brahma, Vishnou, and Seeva* 
had sacti, or a pervading energy, as a consort, who, accord- 
ing to some accounts, are made to proceed from the body 
of the god. The consort of Brahma is said to have been 
Saraswati ; that of Vishnou, Laksmi ; that of Seeva, 
Parvati. 

Saraswati was the spirit of creation in action, and on 
account of her creative genius she was supposed to be the 
goddess of poetry, painting, sculpture, eloquence and music; 
in which attributes she bears an affinity to Minerva. False- 
hood in judicial swearing may be expiated by offerings to 



LAKSMI, PARVATI, KARTIKA'YA. ETC. 143 

her. Images of her are very rare, but in paintings she is 
usually represented riding on a peacock. 

Laksmi is the goddess of beauty, grace and pleasure, 
who is as much a favourite among the Indian artists, as 
Venus has been among the ancients and moderns. She is 
said, like the latter goddess, to have sprung from the sea. 

Parvati, otherwise called Bhavani, Devi, Durga, and 
Kuli, &c. was worshipped as the universal mother, and the 
principle of fecundity. She is also considered as the god- 
dess of the moon. In her character of Doorga — for she has 
as many characters as names, and these are innumerable — 
she is a martial goddess like Minerva, and is said to have 
derived her name from a giant, Doorgu, whom she killed, 
in the same manner as Minerva is said to have been called 
Pallas, from her killing a giant of that name. The festivals 
in honour of Doorga are very numerously attended. It is 
commonly reported that human sacrifices are still offered 
to her in some places, although not publicly ; and the same 
when she is worshipped in her character of Kali, or the 
dispenser of divine justice ; in which latter character she is 
represented as a black woman, the word kali signifying 
black, and wearing a necklace of skulls. Formerly nothing 
but human sacrifices were offered to her, attended with 
circumstances of horrible cruelty. She resembles the 
Grecian Hecate, or Nemesis, most in this character. 

This goddess has, however, the more peaceful office 
assigned to her of presiding over child-birth, much after the 
manner of the goddess Lucina. 

From the union of these deities have sprung an infinite 
number of subordinate deities, which are said to amount to 
as many as thirty millions ; among these, however, must 
be reckoned many who differ only in name, or in a slight 
variation of attributes. Those which are entitled to notice 
are as follows : — 

Kartikya, the son of Seeva, or Mahadeva. is properly the 
Indian god of war. He is famous for having destroyed a 
demon, named Tarika, or Tripurasura, who set himself up 
against the gods. 

Camac is the god of love. 

The Rishis, Munis, or Z\Ienus, are celestial spirits or 



144 HINDOO MYTHOLOGY AND BUDDHISM. 



demons, who act a conspicuous part in the Hindoo mytho- 
logy ; they are seven in number, and are said to have been 
the children of Brahma, whence they are also called Brah- 
midicas. The first of these is Swayambhuva, otherwise 
called Adimi, or the father of men, who corresponds with 
Adam. The last of them, in whose reign the deluge is said 
to have happened, corresponds with Noah. He had three 
sons, Shama, Carma, and Jyapeti, answering to Shem, Ham, 
and Japheth, who were saved with him in the deluge. 
Under the name of Prithu he is said to have introduced 
agriculture. 

The Surs, Suras, or Soors, are angelic beings of a be- 
nevolent disposition. 

The Asoors, or Asuras, are malignant beings of doubtful 
origin ; they are otherwise called by the general name of 
Dewtahs. Their chief is called Mahasoor. 

The Apsaras are beautiful maidens, in number no less 
than six hundred millions, who are supposed to have been 
endowed with youth, sweetness, and every grace. Besides 
which, a race of pigmies is mentioned, no bigger than a 
man's thumb, called Balakelya, of whom sixty thousand 
were produced from the hair of Brahma's body. 



CHAPTER LIX. 

HINDOO MYTHOLOGY AND BUDDHISM {continued). 

Creishna, or Krishnu, one of the terrestrials, who is 
said to be one of the ten incarnations of Vishnu, is repre- 
sented under the figure of a black man with a flute ; of him 
many wonderful stories are told, which resemble the Gre- 
cian legends of Hercules. Several festivals are held of this 
deity in the night, accompanied with abominable practices. 

Juggernaut, or Jugunnat'hu, a deified hero, styled 
Lord of the world, as the name imports, is also a form 
of Vishnou. Creishna having been killed and his bones 
left to rot, a pious king was directed by Vishnou to make 



JUGGERNAUT, GANESA. 



145 



an image of Juggernaut, and put these bones into its belly. 
Wishwukurmu, the architect of the gods, undertook to 
make the image, but declared, that if disturbed while he 
was so doing, he would leave it unfinished. The king, 
impatient to see the image, went to the spot, when the 
artist desisted from the work, and left the god without 
hands or feet, as he is now represented. 

The most celebrated festival in honour of this deity is 
that which is called the Car Festival. The car is in form 
of a tapering bower, between fifty and sixty feet high, 
having sixteen wheels, two horses, and a coachman ; but 
being all of wood, it is drawn by the crowd by means of 
a hawser. The god is supposed to pay an annual visit 
to his brother ; and after remaining eight days at the 
temple, he is drawn back to his own temple. Multitudes 
of pilgrims from all parts of India resort to this festival, 
and numbers immolate themselves to this god, by suffering 
the wheels of the car to crush their bodies. The East India 
Company are in receipt of a tax, called the pilgrim tax, 
which is imposed on those who resort thither ; the propriety 
of which, however, as connected with so abominable a rite, 
has been much called in question. 

Ganesa is the Hindoo god of policy and prudence, the 
reputed son of Mahadeva. He is represented as four-armed, 
and furnished with a trident of his reputed father. This 
deity is generally invoked in the outset of any business ; 
and as a god of cunning he seems to correspond with the 
Mercury of Greece and Rome. 

The Hindoos have, like the Greeks and Romans, gods 
of the elements and heavenly bodies, namely, Indra, their 
king, who is otherwise called Dyupiter, which corresponds 
with the Latin Jupiter, and signifies king of the firmament ; 
Pavan, lord of the winds, and his son Hanuman ; Surya, 
the regent of the sun, who is represented in a resplendent 
car, drawn either by seven horses, or by one horse with 
seven heads ; and is driven by Arun, the dawn, answering 
to Aurora, before mentioned, who is made with the legs cut 
orTjust below the knee, which corresponds with the Egyp- 
tian Horus, who is said to have been born with his legs so 
twisted together as to be unable to walk. The two sons of 
I? 



146 



HINDOO MYTHOLOGY AND BUDDHISM. 



Surya, called Aswina, are depicted like Castor and Pollux. 
Chandra, the regent of the moon ; Agni, the god of fire ; 
Varuna, the ruler of the ocean ; Yama, the king of hell ; 
Sana and Virispati, the respective rulers of the planets 
Saturn and Jupiter. 

Each point of the compass has also its lord, namely, Indra, 
for the east ; Agni, south-east ; Yama, south ; Nerit, south- 
west ; Varuna, west ; Vaija Pavana, or Vishnou, north-west ; 
Cuvera, the god of riches, north ; Isani, north-east ; Brahma, 
the zenith ; Rudra, the centre ; Naga, the nadir. 

The Hindoos, like the Egyptians and Greeks, make a god 
to preside over the several days of the week, as, Surya, called 
Aditvar, over Sunday ; Chandra, or Somvar, over Monday ; 
Mangala, or Mongalvur, over Tuesday, that is, the planet 
Mars ; Budha, over Wednesday, or Mercury ; Virispati, or 
Virhaspetvar, over Thursday, that is, Jupiter ; Sukra, or 
Sukevar, Friday, that is, Venus ; Sani, or Sanivar, Saturday, 
that is, Saturn. 

The hell of the Hindoos is called Patala, or Padalon, the 
governor of which, Yama, is figured in two ways ; under 
the one he is called Dhermer Rajah, King of Justice, and 
has a mild aspect, to be seen only by the righteous ; but, 
under the other, or that of Yama, he is fierce and terrible, 
and is seen only by the wicked. One of the Puranas says, 
that Yama has two dogs, one of which is called Cerbura, or 
Trisiris, being three-headed ; the other, Syama, is black. 

The Brahminical religion is divided into sects, according 
as its followers have regarded Brahma, Vishnou, or Seeva, 
as their chief deity, and the others but as manifestations of 
the divine power. The sect who worshipped Brahma in an 
especial manner have been long extinct ; but Vishnou and 
Seeva are extolled by their respective followers as each 
being exclusively god. All the divine attributes are ascribed 
to them, and Brahma is now feigned to have sprung from 
Yishnou, as he did before from Nayarana. 

Whatever may be the antiquity of the Hindoo religion 
and mythology, the latter has undergone many changes 
since its introduction. At first, it appears to have been 
simple, like that of the Egyptians, which it much resem- 
bled j but afterwards it became enlarged by perpetual acces- 



BUDDHISM 147 

sions of new deities and legends, drawn partly from the 
Bible, partly from the mythology of the Greeks, but still 
more from the extravagant fancies of their poets and priests, 
so that now it is become the most complicated and confused 
scheme of mythology of any that is extant. 



Zecj 




BUDDHA.. 



Buddhism, although originating in nothing but an avatar 
of Vishnou, is not merely a sect but an independent branch 
of the Hindoo religion, which, though not countenanced by 
the Brahmins, is the popular creed in China, Japan, Thibet, 
Siam, Ceylon, and the Burmese empire. The brahmins 
still admit Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnou, and in 
that character represent him with the woolly hair and 
thick lips of a negro ; but those who worship Buddha do 
more, for they look upon him as god, and will not allow him 
to be a subordinate personage. This is not the only pecu- 
liarity : for Buddhism appears to differ from the Hindoo 
mythology in many points of belief. 

Buddha is said, at the solicitation of many deities, to have 
descended repeatedly to earth, and animated various human 
bodies, in which he exercised every possible virtue. After 
the last of these manifestations he is supposed to have 
ascended to the hall of glory, named Moorkze. In process 
of time another Buddha is to appear upon earth ; and, after 



148 HINDOO MYTHOLOGY AND BUDDHISM. 

an infinite number of ages, the universe will perish, and a 
new order of things succeed. 

According to the Singalese legend, Buddha is said, in his 
third visit to Ceylon, to have ascended to the top of the 
mountain called the Peak of Adima, and thence being trans- 
lated to heaven, was no more seen in this world. He is 
worshipped among the Calmucs under the name of Xaca, or 
Xacamini, and is said to have been only a sovereign prince 
in India, but that, on account of his unparalleled sanctity, 
God had taken him up into heaven alive : which is evidently 
a mythological version of the translation of Enoch. 

Buddha is represented as having a body eighteen cubits 
high ; as eating rice and vegetables, and having many other 
attributes of humanity. His temples in the Burmese em- 
pire, where this religion is more exclusively followed, are of 
many different shapes ; but the round ones are only per- 
mitted to be built by imperial authority. An elevated spot 
is usually chosen, and some of the temples, particularly in 
Ceylon, are extremely large, being capable of holding up- 
wards of three thousand persons. The images of Buddha 
are sometimes made to be seated on a throne ; but some- 
times in a sitting posture with the legs folded. The priests 
make offerings every day of flowers, incense, rice, &c, and 
also repeat the five commandments of Buddha, namely, not v 
to destroy life ; not to steal j not to commit adultery ; not 
to tell falsehoods ; and not to use spirituous liquors. The 
priests themselves live in a state of celibacy, and abstain 
from all pleasures. 

The Burmese, Singalese, and Ceylanese admit the power 
of the Hindoo deities, with many qualifications ; but as to 
the religion itself they are said to hate it more than Mo- 
hammedanism. They also reject all castes. 

Among the sects of the Buddhists the most remarkable 
is that of Thibet, where the deity is supposed to reside in 
the person of the sovereign, called the Delai Lama, at whose 
death or disappearance he passes into the body of a child, 
whom the priests select to represent their god and king. 



CHINESE AND JAPANESE MYTHOLOGY. 149 




CHINESE .NEPTUNE. 



CHAPTER LX. 

CHINESE AND JAPANESE MYTHOLOGY. 

The Chinese have their fabulous accounts of the creation, 
the gradual corruption of mankind, and their destruction by 
a deluge, very similar to those already mentioned. They 
make chaos, which, as they say, consisted of an egg, to 
precede the creation. From the shell of this egg, in the 
deep gloom of primeval night, proceeded, first, the heaven ; 
then the air, from the white, and the earth, from the yolk ; 
after which man was created. Then, as they say, com- 
menced the "first state of heaven," when all was order, 
harmony, and bliss ; when every thing grew without labour, 
and universal plenty existed. This was the Chinese golden 
age, which was succeeded bv a second state, when man 
n 3 



160 CHINESE AND JAPANESE MYTHOLOGY. 

rebelled against heaven, and all nature became disordered ; 
from which time, they believe, that the life of man was 
shortened. 

What they relate of the deluge is connected with the 
account of their principal deity, whose worship, under the 
name of Fo, or Fohi, derived from the Bood, or Buddha, of 
the Hindoos, is said to have been introduced in the first 
century of the Christian era. It is told of him that he was 
their first emperor, and that he never had any father ; but as 
his mother was walking on the bank of a lake, she was sud- 
denly encompassed by a rainbow, and having conceived, in 
consequence, brought forth Fohi, who, while a child, was 
brought up by some poor fishermen ; but he discovered his 
heavenly origin by the miracles he wrought. Moreover he 
is said to have bred seven different kinds of animals for the 
purpose of sacrifice, and that he was born in the province 
of Xensi, or Shensi, which is the nearest point to Mount 
Ararat, on which the ark rested. 

The supposed mother of Fohi is also worshipped by the 
Chinese, under the title of Shing Moo, or the Holy Mother, 
and is said to be generally placed in a niche behind the 
altar, sometimes having an infant either in her arms or on 
her knee, and her head encircled with a glory. 

This legend was evidently borrowed from the New as well 
as the Old Testament, The rainbow, and the seven kinds 
of animals, allude to Noah and the deluge ; but the virgin 
mother of Fohi, his birth, education, and the miracles which 
he is said to have wrought, bear too strong a coincidence 
with the circumstances of our Saviour's birth, education, 
and life, to have been accidental. It is likewise worthy of 
observation, that the Mantschoo Tartars have a similar 
legend respecting the founder of their monarchy, whose 
mother they believe to have been a virgin. 

The priests of Fohi, who are very numerous, dress in 
loose yellow gowns, and inhabit monasteries called Pootala y 
which is derived from the Hindoo Budhalaya, that is, the 
dwelling-place of Buddha. They are bound to celibacy, as 
in the Burmese empire, and round their necks they wear a 
chaplet of beads, which they use on particular occasions, 
when they walk round the altar with a slow, measured pace, 



SHIN-MEN, 



151 



and repeat, at every bead, the word O-me-to-fo, respectfully 
bowing their heads. When the string of beads is thus gone 
through, they make a mark to denote the number of ejacu- 
lations. The Romish missionaries, from whom we have 
this account, were struck with the resemblance of these lites 
to those of their own church, for which they could not easily 
account ; but the plain inference from the whole is this, that 
the Chinese made themselves acquainted, not only with the 
principles of Christianity in general, but also with the rites 
of the Romish church in particular, of which they made as 
much use as suited their fancy. 

The tans, or altars of the Chinese, were originally on the 
summits of mountains ; but now they are erected on artifi- 
cial mounds, as is the case with the three principal altars at 
Pekin, namely, the lien-tan, or altar of heaven ; the tee-tan, 
or altar of the earth ; and the sien-nong-tan, or the altar 
of agriculture. On these the emperor sacrifices at certain 
seasons of the year, for the purpose of obtaining rain, and 
whatever may be useful for the fruits of the earth, or of 
averting drought or any other thing that may be prejudicial. 
The emperor alone performs this religious service, he being 
the only person in the empire thought worthy to intercede 
for his people. 

As to the Chinese in general, they have no public wor- 
ship, no division of their time into weeks, no day of rest, 
nor any ritual. The whole practice of their religion consists 
in divination, by means of small sticks marked at the end 
with certain characters, which, being put into a cup and 
shaken, the stick that falls out from the shaking is supposed, 
by its character, to denote what will be satisfactory, or the 
contrary, to the person consulting them. If the thing turns 
out to the mind of a Chinese, he is very well pleased with 
his gods, and sometimes returns them thanks, otherwise he 
expresses a petulant contempt towards them. 

As the Chinese adopted most of the Hindoo deities, which 
they have engrafted on their own scheme, they have not 
much fewer idols than that people. 

Shin-Men is said by them to be the son of Fohi, and 
corresponds with the Hindoo Ganesa. As the guardian 
spirit of doors, he reminds us of the Roman Janus ; but his 



152 CHINESE AND JAPANESE MYTHOLOGY. 



name, which signifies the Chinese Menu, shows his Hindoo 
origin. 

Lui-Shin, or the Thunderer, answers to the vehicle or 
vahar of Vishnou, furnished with the attributes of the god. 
He is usually represented as a man, with the face and claws 
of an eagle ; surrounded with kettle-drums, to represent the 
noise of thunder, and holding in his hands a representation 
of lightning, like the Jupiter of Greece and Rome. 

Hai-Vang, the god of the sea, or the Chinese Neptune, 
is represented holding a magnet in one hand, and a dolphin 
in the other, his hair dishevelled, to denote the agitated state 
of the waters. 

The Chinese have a class of inferior deities which they 
call Poosa, or the Supporters of Plants, a sort of domestic 
deities, like those mentioned among the Romans ; and also 
tutelary deities, which, like the Lemures of the Romans, 
were considered to be the spirits of their departed ancestors; 
but, in process of time, came to be regarded as independent 
deities. To these may be added some moral attributes, to 
which they erected statues in their temples ; as the gods of 
peace and war, temperance, mirth, melancholy, fruitfulness, 
and pleasure. In the temple of Tonge-choo-foo is to be seen 
a very conspicuous female image of Providence, holding in 
her hand a circular plate with an eye depicted on it. 

Some of their idols are of a gigantic size. One, supposed 
to be the goddess of nature, is said to be ninety feet high, 
having four heads and forty-four arms. Another statue, of 
eighty feet, represents a giant with a hundred hands. 

The Japanese worship Buddha under the name of Budsdo, 
or the appellation of Amida, or Amita, who is supposed to 
be the lord of paradise, as Jemma is the god of hell, with 
whom he is said to intercede sometimes for a remission of 
the sentence on the condemned. He is represented on a 
horse with seven heads ; and, considering that a horse, 
among the ancients, was emblematical of a ship, this is, in 
all probability, an allusion to the ark with the eight persons 
preserved in it. A similar allusion may be observed in the 
representation of their goddess Quanoon, crowned with 
seven, and sometimes eight, other idols, she herself being 
looked upon as the goddess of the ark. 



PERSIAN AND ARABIAN MYTHOLOGY. 153 



CHAPTER LXI. 

PERSIAN AND ARABIAN MYTHOLOGY. 

The Persians, who were the descendants of Elam, the son 
of Shem, may, in the first instance, as is supposed, have 
worshipped the true God ; but it is to be feared that they 
did so in a manner not altogether worthy of him ; as, from 
the earliest accounts we have of them as a nation, we find 
that they gave honour to the creature which was due alone 
to the Creator, and mingled all sorts of fables with the truth 
which they had received from their ancestors. 

Their scheme of mythology is to be found in a book 
called " Zend-Avesta," of which Zeratuscht, or Zoroaster, a 
celebrated Persian philosopher, was the author, or compiler. 
In this we are told that there were two principles in the 
universe, the first of which, called Hormzd, or Ormuzd, by 
the Greeks Oromasdes, was the author of all good ; the 
second, Ahriman, or Arimanus, the author of all evil, who 
was perpetually opposed to him. Oromasdes they held to 
be eternal, but Arimanus to be a created being. 

Oromasdes is said to have created good spirits, or genii ; 
in opposition to whom Arimanus made as many evil spirits, 
with whom he set himself up in rebellion against heaven, 
and it was supposed that he would be at liberty to oppose 
Oromasdes until the time arrived that he should be de- 
stroyed. 

The period of creation, according to this book, was divided 
into six intervals, in the last of which man was created, who 
consisted of two parts combined in one ; namely, man, called 
Kaiomorts, who was the pure and holy soul of this intelligent 
creature, and the man-bull, called Aboudad, which was the 
animal part. 

Oromasdes is said to have inclosed the genii in an egg, 
which Arimanus broke, whence proceeded the mixture of 
good and evil. After this the man-bull, who was placed in 
a state of happiness by Oromasdes, was corrupted by a 
serpent, through the instigation of Arimanus, and died of 
poison, when another man-bull, named Tasc\iter ) made his 



154 



PERSIAN AND ARABIAN MYTHOLOGY, 



appearance, who was commissioned to bring a deluge of 
rain upon the earth. When the waters, at the command of 
Oromasdes, retired from the surface of the globe, the sum- 
mit of Albordi was the first land that became visible. The 
sun and moon then appeared upon its summit, and the latter 
of these, who is celebrated as the common mother, is said 
to have preserved and purified the offspring of the second 
man-bull. Such is the substance of the Persian fables re- 
specting those matters which are related in the Mosaic 
account and other parts of the Bible. 

Mithras, the principal deity worshipped by the Persians, 
is supposed to have been a personification of the sun, and 
the first production of the power of Oromasdes. He was 
invoked by the Persians as the mediator between him and 
Arimanus, and is represented by Zoroaster as seated next 
the throne of Oromasdes, surrounded by an infinite multi- 
tude of genii, who presided over the divisions of time, the 
successions of the seasons, and the various operations of the 
natural world. 

The symbols of Mithras were the bull, the serpent, globe, 




Fi H E-W O R8 H t ITS R» 



MITHRAS ZOROASTER. 



155 



and wings united. The mysteries celebrated in honour of 
him were very similar to those in honour of Ceres, Isis, and 
Bacchus ; and, like them, were commemorative of the events 
of the deluge, coupled with the worship of the sun. These 
were celebrated in caves, which are supposed to be em- 
blematical of the globe, and of the ark, in which Noah and 
his family found safety. 

Bui the Persians did not confine their worship to Mithras, 
or the sun under that name ; they had a particular reve- 
rence for fire, probably as an emanation of the sun, to which 
they chiefly addressed their prayers. It was preserved by 
them with religious care on altars, spaciously inclosed with 
grating, in certain places, called by the Greeks Pyrathia, 
which none but the magi were permitted to enter. 

They also worshipped the moon, and the expanse of 
heaven, which the Greeks identified with their Jupiter ; and 
held the air, earth, and water as particularly sacre'd, where- 
fore they endeavoured to keep off all impurities from the 
air, and would not bury their dead, that the earth might not 
be contaminated, but suffered their bodies to be devoured 
by the vultures and beasts of prey. For the same reason, 
they would not bathe in risers or streams, or spit into 
water. 

It appears, likewise, that in addition to this worship of 
inanimate objects, they also sacrificed to heroes and demi- 
gods, as their tutelary divinities, and adopted the Babylo- 
nian Venus among their deities. 

They built no temples, nor, for a length of time, admitted 
any images of their gods, but offered their devotions either 
on mountains or in caves, as before observed. They brought 
different offerings to their several gods. To Mithras, or the 
sun, they sacrificed horses ; to Jupiter, or the heavens, 
oxen ; to the fire, dry wood, stripped of its bark, and smeared 
with rard, or soaked in oil. To the water they offered 
victims slaughtered in a trench by the side of it, on which 
occasion the utmost care was taken that not a drop of the 
blood should go into the water. 

Their priests, so well known by the name of magi, took 
their rise from Zoroaster, and are said to have practised 
great austerities towards themselves, particularly on their 



156 CELTIC MYTHOLOGY AND DRUIDISM. 

initiation ; but their practice of magic, which took its name 
from them, is that for which they are most celebrated. 

The religion of the ancient Persians has been principally 
superseded by Mohammedanism but there are still num- 
bers who adhere to it, and are distinguished by the name 
of Parsees. 

The Arabian Mythology agreed with that of the Egyp- 
tians, Hindoos, and Persians, inasmuch as they admitted 
in the beginning but one god, to whom they gave the name 
of Allah, or All a Taalah, corrupted from the Hebrew 
El, lord, who was not the object of their worship. They 
paid divine honours to the sun, moon, and planets, under 
different names, according to the different tribes. 

Manah was a deity of some of the tribes, who is sup- 
posed to have been represented by a black stone in the 
Caaba, a temple at Mecca. On their scheme of mvthology 
was ingrafted the imposture of Mohammed. 



CHAPTER LXII. 

CELTIC MYTHOLOGY AND DRUIDISM. 

The Celts are understood to be descendants of Gomer, 
the eldest son of Japhet, who first settled in Gaul and the 
British Isles. 

The Celtic Mythology was, with some variations, 
common to all the tribes who inhabited those parts ; but 
that which was the matter of popular belief in Britain, has 
been distinguished by the name of Druidism. Druid, the 
name of the British priests, has been most generally derived 
from the Greek drus, although, more properly, from the 
Celtic dru, an oak ; the veneration of the oak being preva- 
lent among all the Celtic tribes. But Mr. Davies, in his 
<{ Celtic Researches," derives the name from the Welsh, 
Derwydd ; that is, der, principal, and gwydd or wyd, a 
priest or inspector ; so called in distinction from Owydd, or 
Gowydd, an inferior order of priests. 
- The Druids were, among the Celts, what the Chaldeans 



THE DRUIDS. 



157 



were among the Babylonians, the Magi among the Persians, 
iind the Brahmins among the Indians, only invested with 




THE ARCH-DRUID. 



superior dignity and higher authority. They were of the 
equestrian order, and their disciples were chosen from the 
noblest families, who alone could become teachers in time. 
To them they imparted their instructions in religion, ethics, 
astronomy, and other sciences in which they were skilled. 
They were not only the priests, but the bards, philosophers, 
legislators, and judges of the land. They preserved the 
memory and actions of great men, in their verses, which 
they never committed to writing ; but, like the rest of their 
instructions, they delivered orally to their scholars, to be by 
them committed to memory. They decided all disputes, 
both public and private ; took cognizance of crimes, inhe- 
ritances, boundaries and limits, and decreed rewards and 
punishments. In order to enforce obedience to their decrees, 
tfrey were armed with the terrors of excommunication, which 
o 



158 CELTIC MYTHOLOGY AND DRUIDISM. 

was the most grievous of all punishments, whereby the 
offender was cut off from all human society, and, like Cain, 
was left to be a wanderer upon the earth, with a mark set 
upon him, in imitation, as is supposed, of what befel the 
first murderer. 

The Druids were exempted from all taxes and military 
service, and entitled to a maintenance, wherever they went, 
much after the manner, as is supposed, of the tithe which 
was set apart under the Jewish dispensation. They also 
possessed such power, that the British kings could not make 
peace or proclaim war without their consent ; added to all 
which, they had a sacerdotal dress, which was the peculiar 
badge of their office. 

They had one chief or archdruid, the Pontifex Maximus 
of the Romans, and High Priest of the Jews, who had 
supreme authority over the whole. 

Although the Gauls had, in all probability, their Druids, 
yet they appear to have had persons with distinct names 
to perform the several offices which were combined in the 
order of British Druids. They had their Bardi, Embages, 
Saronidae, Sennachi, and Vacerri. 

The Bardi, or Bards, were the poets. None, as we are 
told by Caesar, were entitled to hold that rank but such as 
were bards according to the rights and institutes of the 
bards of Britain ; for pure bardism or druidism originated 
there, and was not understood in any other country. 
This is confirmed by the remains of bardism of which Mr. 
Davies makes mention. The Embages were their augurs ; 
the SARONiDiE. the civil judges and instructors of youth ; 
the Vacerri, the piiests ; and the Sennachi, probably the 
chronologers and historians. 

Notwithstanding this difference between the Gauls and 
Britons, it appears that, in their civil capacity, they held 
their meetings annually, at a certain season, nearly in the 
middle of Gaul, whither all the people flocked to have their 
differences decided. 

The mythology of the Celts, particularly that branch of 
it called Druidism, is admitted, on all hands, to be of great- 
antiquity, having been introduced into Gaul and Britain as 
early as the time of Abraham. The resemblance which it^ 



THE CELTS. 



159 



bears to the patriarchal religion is so great as almost to 
amount to identity ; but this must not be understood to 
apply to the true faith preserved in the line of Abraham, 
but to that faith which had been more or less corrupted 
before the flood, as before observed. 



CHAPTER LXIII. 
Celtic mythology (continued). 

The Celts, like their brethren who settled in Persia, 
acknowledged one supreme God, but they did not acknow- 
ledge him alone as the only true God. They had other 
deities to whom they gave distinct names, and ascribed 
distinct attributes. It is true that all the names of their 
deities were resolvable into the appellations given in different 
parts of Scripture to the Supreme Being ; but they were, 
nevertheless, distinct, and evidently conveyed a false im- 
pression to the minds of all by whom they were used. 

The deities particularly worshipped by the Gauls were 
Tharamis or Taramis, Belenus, Teutates, and Hesus. 

Tharamis, which signified the Thunderer, answered to 
the Jupiter of the Greeks and Romans. 

Belenus, or Bel, answered to the Baal of the Babylonians. 
The name of Baal, or Lord, was given to Jehovah, until it 
was adopted into idolatry. 

Teutates was the Thoth of the Egyptians, and Hermes, 
or Mercury, of the Greeks and Romans. 

Hesus, or Esus, was the god of war, from whom the 
name of Mars has been derived. The Gauls used, before 
going to battle, to vow to this deity, not only all the horses 
and arms which they took from the enemy, but also their 
captives, whom they usually sacrificed to his honour. 

The Britons, being a more quiet and secluded people, 
who cultivated all the arts of peace, had deities suited to 
their character. They worshipped Bel in an especial 
manner, as the representative of the sun ; Apollo, under 
the name of Tytain Tad Awen, that is, Titan the father of 
inspiration, which reminds us of the Greek appellation of 



160 



CELTIC MYTHOLOGY. 



Apollo ; and Pluto, under that of Aedd. answering to Hades, 
the Greek appellation of that deity. 

They had also a personage named Hu Gadarn, much 
celebrated by their bards, who describe him in terms fitted 
to the Supreme Being, although he is supposed to have had 
some reference to the patriarch Noah. On this point the 
Druids were not less fabulous, though not so extravagant in 
their fictions, as other people. The account they give of the 
deluge is as follows :■ — " The waters burst forth — all lands 
were covered — all mankind were drowned, except only two 
persons, who escaped in a boat ; of them was repeopled the 
island of Britain." The person who escaped is called Dwy- 
wan, Dylan, or Dyghan, answering to the Deucalion of the 
Greeks, and his wife Dwyvach ; which names, in the Welsh, 
signify the godlike man and woman. The Britons, who 
had as much nationality as the Greeks, must needs repre- 
sent the vessel in which they escaped, as one of the master- 
works of Britain. 

Hu Gadarn is said to have drawn the destroyer out of the 
water, so that the lake should burst forth no more. This 
he is said to have done by branching or elevated oxen, in 
allusion to Noah's offerings. He also instructed the primi- 
tive race in the cultivation of the earth ; first collected and 
disposed them into various tribes ; gave them laws, &c. ; and 
brought the Cymry, or Celts, into Gaul and Britain, because 
he would not have them possess lands by war and conten- 
tion, but of right and peace ; in all of which we see the 
conduct and character of the patriarch set forth. 

The Celts, like the Persians, also believed in the existence 
of an evil spirit, who by them was originally called Aibis- 
ter, for which, in aftertimes, they substituted the word 
Diabhol, probably from the Latin diabolus, the devil. 

The Celts worshipped in groves, particularly of oak, 
which was in conformity with a patriarchal practice men- 
tioned in several places of Scripture ; as in the case of 
Abraham, who planted a grove in Beersheba ; but this was 
not confined to worshippers of the true God. Idolaters 
followed the same practice ; on which account the Jews were 
commanded to cut down the groves that had been desecrated 
to idolatrous purposes. 



THE CELTS. 



161 



The veneration which the Celts had for the oak, although 
grounded on the practice of the patriarchs, was with them 
altogether false, and coupled with heathenish rites. They 
wore chaplets of oak, strewed their altars with its leaves, 
and encircled them with its branches. The mistletoe, which 
grows on the oak, was thought by them to have a divine 
virtue, and to be the peculiar gift of heaven. It was sought 
for on the sixth day of the moon, with the greatest eager- 
ness, and when found, the discovery was hailed with raptures 
of joy. The archdruid then ascending the tree, with a con- 
secrated golden knife cropped the mistletoe ; and on his 
descending, two white bulls were sacrificed at the foot of 
the tree- 

The Celts had, like the Persians, no enclosed temples ; and 
the reason assigned for this is the same in both cases, 
namely, that it was improper to attempt to confine the deity 
within enclosed places. Wherefore they set up stones, in 
imitation of those set up by Moses and Joshua, of which 
there are many remains in England, Wales, Ireland, and 
Scotland, as well as in France. The erections of this kind 
at Stonehenge and at Abury, are considered to be the most 
distinguished monuments of art and antiquity that have 
ever existed in the world. 

The circular form has been adopted in all these cases, 
not merely in imitation of those erections mentioned in 
Scripture, but also in honour of Bel, or the sun. Stonehenge 
is called in the Welsh, Gwaith Emrys, or Emreis, which signi- 
fies the structure of the revolution, evidently in allusion to 
that of the sun ; and the temple at Abury is constructed in 
the form of a serpent passing through a circle, — the serpent 
being confessedly an emblem of the sun. 

The circle having been adopted for idolatrous purposes, 
Moses caused the tabernacle to be of a square form. 

The religious rites of the Celts, as far as we know of 
them, were evidently in honour of the sun. Among other 
things, they are said to have gone round their cairns, or 
altars, in slow procession, moving from right to left, like 
the Greeks ; and, in like manner, they had a sacred dance, 
which was intended to represent the motion of the sun. 

They had two principal festivals, called the Bealtine, or 
o 3 



1G2 



CELTIC MYTHOLOGY. 



Be'el-tin, and the Samh'in. The first was held in the begin- 
ning of May, when a large bonfire was kindled, to congra- 
tulate the return of the luminary, which was considered as 
the emblem of the Supreme Being. The other of these 
solemnities was held upon Hallow-Eve, which, in the Gaelic 
and Irish still retains the name of Samh'in. The word sig- 
nifying the fire of peace, fires were kindled for the purpose 
of maintaining peace. 



CHAPTER LXIV. 




DRUIDS SACRIFICING 



Celtic mythology {continued). 

As to the sacrifices offered by the Celts in their religious 
worship, there is some degree of uncertainty. That the 
Gauls offered human victims, is a very well- authenticated 
fact ; but considering how utterly such an abominable 



THE CELTS. 



163 



practice is at variance with all we are told, in other respects, 
of the Druids, it has been doubted whether they were like- 
wise guilty of this abomination ; but when it is considered 
how deep men may be plunged in guilt, who are actuated 
by any false sentiment of religion, it seems impossible to 
doubt the truth of what is so positively asserted by the 
Roman historians. 

The Celts, like the Persians, are said in the first instance 
to have had no images of their deities ; but both deviated 
from this usage in after times, the Celts, however, much less 
than the Persians. The Gauls had a species of representa- 
tion of Jupiter, which has been called the Gallic Tau, from 
its similitude to the Hebrew letter J^, thau, which consisted 
of a huge giant oak, deprived of all its branches, except 
only two large ones, w r hich, though cut off and separated, 
were suspended from the top of its trunk like extended 
arms. 

The Celts were, likewise, generally guilty of stone wor- 
ship, more than any other nation ; which arose, like most of 
their idolatrous practices, from a misapplication of patri- 
archal usages. The fact of Jacob having on one signal 
occasion set up a stone which he called Bethel, or the 
House of the Lord, has been already mentioned; to which 
might be added other instances of the same kind mentioned * 
in Holy Writ. The same thing was done very frequently 
by the inhabitants of Britain, Scotland, Ireland, and Gaul, 
as appears from the number of obelisks and stones of dif- 
ferent forms, which are to be found in those parts. Now 
the purpose of setting up such stones, in the case of the 
patriarchs, was obviously to serve as memorials of the 
divine goodness, and as places of worship for all who 
should pass by them ; but the object of the Celts in so doing 
must have been the same as that of other heathen nations 
who had adopted this practice, namely, to make a repre- 
sentation of their false gods. Examples of this stone wor- 
ship among the Greeks and. Romans have already been 
mentioned. 

That the Celts, like the Persians, were worshippers of 
the elements and the winds, may be inferred from a law of 
Canute, which prohibited the worship of fire, stones, water 



164 



CELTIC MYTHOLOGY. 



and winds, and a similar interdict in a Gallic council in the 
sixth century. 

The Celts believed in the immortality of the soul, and a 
state of rewards and punishment ; the former of which is 
still called in the Gallic Flath-innes, that is, the island of 
the brave, and is described as an earthly paradise ; the 
latter, called Isurim, was a dark and dismal region, in which 
was every animal of the vile, venomous, and hurtful kind ; 
and above all, a coldness so intense, that it would have 
frozen the inhabitants instantly to death if they could have 
been thus relieved from their sufferings. To these fictions 
the Druids added the belief in metempsychosis, already 
mentioned as forming a part of the Egyptian mythology. 

The Druids resembled the Persian Magi in another 
point, namely, in the practice of magic and soothsaying, to 
which they were particularly led by their familiar acquaint- 
ance with astronomy. They are admitted to have made 
this their particular study, and gained credit for being able 
to foretell future events, from a knowledge of the motions 
and situation of the stars. 

From the little we know of their moral principles, we 
may, without hesitation, pronounce them to be less objec- 
tionable than their religious creed. Their precepts appear 
to have been conveyed in short sentences ; three of which 
being strung together are on that account called Triads. Mela 
has preserved one of them, which runs after this manner : — 
"To act bravely in war, 
That souls are immortal, 
And there is another life after death." 

[ Diogenes Laertius has furnished us with another :-r* 

" To worship the gods, 
To do no evil, 
And to exercise fortitude." 

Among the remains of "Welsh literature, a number of 
these triads have been preserved on different subjects, prin- 
cipally relating to the early history of Britain. 

It appears to have been one principle of the Druids, that 
the sword should never be unsheathed, except in self-de- 
fence against the lawless and the spoiler. They themselves 
appear never to have taken part personally in any contest, 



GOTHIC AND SAXON MYTHOLOGY. 



165 



unless by encouraging and animating the people ; and when 
the island was invaded by the Romans, they withdrew to 
the Isle of Mona, or Anglesey, whither, however, they were 
pursued by Suetonius, the Roman general, who, in revenge 
for the massacre of some of his soldiers, on an insurrection 
of the Britons, took the Druids prisoners, and burnt them 
in the fires which they had kindled to consume the enemy. 




DRUIDS MASSACRED. 



This event took place, a. d. 62, from which period we 
may date the extinction of the order, although the principles 
and practices of Druidism continued for some time after the 
introduction of Christianity. 



CHAPTER LXV. 

GOTHIC AND SAXON MYTHOLOGY, 

The Gothic Mythology is so called from the Get^e, 
or Goths, a tribe of Scythians, who, at an early period, 



166 GOTHIC AND SAXON MYTHOLOGY. 

passed over into Scandinavia, whence they overspread all 
Sweden, Denmark, the islands of the Baltic, and the neigh- 
bouring parts. 

Their mythological scheme is explained in a work called 
the Edda, which was compiled by Snorro Sturleson, in the 
thirteenth century, from the poems of the Scalds or bards, 
particularly one bearing the same name, and a still older 
one, called the Voluspa. 

The Goths, like the Indians, believed in a supreme being, 
to whom they ascribed many of the divine attributes, but 
offered him no worship, which they paid only to the subor- 
dinate deities. This being they designated by the name of 
Alfader, that is, father of all. 

They believed that giants existed before the gods, the 
chief of whom, named Odin, was the offspring of one of 
them. After this, according to their fables, which agree 
with that of the Greeks, a war ensued between the gods 
and the giants, which terminated in the destruction of the 
latter. The gods then proceeded to the work of creation, 
and fashioned the globe out of the body of one of the giants, 
named Ymir. Before all this, however, we find from the 
Voluspa, that in accordance with the Mosaic account, " In 
the beginning, there was neither shore nor sea ; the earth 
was not to be found below, nor the heavens above." 

Besides Odin, before-mentioned, who was the god of war, 
and is supposed to be the Buddha, or Bood, of the Hindoos; 
the gods of the Gothic mythology were Frigga, the wife 
of Odin, and Thor, their son, who, from the legends told 
of them, correspond to the Osiris, Isis, and Orus, of the 
Egyptians. Among the other children of Odin, were 
Balder, a powerful god ; Hoder, the blind ; Vidar, the 
god of silence, who walked on the waters, and in the air ; 
Vali, the archer ; Uller, who presided over trial by the 
duel ; Forsette, the arbiter between gods and men ; Idu- 
na, the queen of youth; Saga, the goddess of waterfalls ; 
Vara, the goddess of truth, who presided over witnesses 
and oaths ; Lofen, the guardian of friendship ; Synia and 
Snootra, who presided over wisdom and discretion. To 
these may be added, Heimdall, the son of nine virgins, 
and sentinel of the gods ; Braga, the god of poetry ; 



GOTHIC AND SAXON" MYTH LOGY. 



167 



Niord, the god of winds and the sea j Tyr, the god of 
might ; Eica, the goddess of medicine ; Freya, the wife 
of Hoder, and goddess of love ; Gna, the messenger of 
Frigga ; Tylla, the goddess of beauty, secrecy, and chas- 
tity ; Siona and Soona, presiding over marriage ; and the 
Valkyruies, virgins, who always attended Odin in battle. 
Among their evil spirits was Loke, the spirit of evil and 
contradiction, who was always opposing the gods. 

Besides the giants and gods, the Goths, like the Greeks 
and Romans, had their genii ; like the Arabians, their 
fairies ; and, like the Indians, their dwarfs or pigmies. The 
genii presided over the destinies of man, of whom there 
were three principal — Urda, Verdandi and Skulda, an- 
swering to the Pares. They had their evil as well as good 
genii, of whom Surtur was the prince. 

That they worshipped the sun and moon may be inferred 
from two days in the week being sacred to them, namely, 
Sonndag and Mondag, that is, Sunday and Monday. 

The heaven of the Goths was in the highest regions of 
the earth, and consisted of two abodes, namely, the Val- 
halla, or hall of Odin, where warriors only were admitted ; 
and a higher abode, called Gimle, where the good and 
virtuous, in general, were to be admitted. They had also 
two abodes for the wicked, namely, Xifleheim, or Evil 
Home, and Xastrond, or the Shore of the Dead. Niile- 
heim consisted of nine regions, over whom Hela, or 
Death, held absolute sway. Mention is also made of two 
d( gs of this hell, instead of the singie Cerberus among the 
Greeks and Romans. 

The Goths also held that Valhalla and ^ifleheiin were 
both perishable abodes ; and that at the last day, the re- 
spective inhabitants of these two places were to be con- 
signed by Alfader, either to Gimle or to Xastrond, both of 
v;.ica would be eternal ; a fable evidently borrowed from the 
Scripture account of the day of judgment. They denomi- 
nated this the Twilight of the Gods. 

The Saxon Mythology embraces that which belonged 
to the inhabitants of Germany, known by the general name 
of Germans ; and that which belonged to the Anglo-Saxons, 
both of which are but variations of the Gothic mythology. 



168 MEXICAN AND PERUVIAN MYTHOLOGY. 



The Germans, who, in all probability, adopted all the gods 
of the Goths, had, nevertheless, two deities peculiar to 
themselves, namely, Tuisco, or Tuisto, who was supposed 
to be the same as the earth ; and Mannus, his son, the 
supposed founder of the nation. The Saxons, on the 
continent as well as in England, had, among other deities 
peculiar to them also, one called Hertha, the earth ; and 
another, Seturne, or Seater, whom they worshipped as the 
god of time, answering to the Saturn of the Romans, from 
whom they gave the name of Seternesdceg to the sixth day 
in the week, or our Saturday, which day, by the Goths and 
Germans, was called Sonnabend, or the eve of the Sunday. 
The names given to the other days of the week were very 
similar among the Goths and Saxons ; namely, Tuesday, 
Tyrsdseg ; Wednesday, Odensdaeg ; Thursday, Thorsdseg ; 
Friday, Freyasdaeg, among the Goths ; answering to the 
Saxon Tiwsdseg, the day of Tiw, or the Gothic Tyr, and 
the German Tuisco ; Wodensdaeg, the day of Woden or 
Oden ; Thunresdaeg, the day of Thunre or Thor ; Freyas- 
daeg, the day of Frigga, or Freya ; which correspond with 
the days in the Roman calendar, sacred to Mars, Mercury, 
Jupiter, and Venus. 



CHAPTER LXVT. 

MEXICAN AND PERUVIAN MYTHOLOGY. 

The Mexicans, like the Egyptians, Hindoos, and Per- 
sians, acknowledged a supreme god, named Ipalnemoani, 
whom they conceived to be too holy and lofty to be ad- 
dressed in prayer, or represented by images. The other 
gods, who were objects of worship, were considered as ema- 
nations from him. 

The chief object of their worship was named Vitzli- 
PUTzli, or Mexitli, whom they supposed to have conducted 
their ancestors from the northern to the southern regions. 
He was worshipped by multitudes of victims, who were 
sacrificed with every circumstance of savage barbarity. 



MEXICAN AND PERUVIAN MYTHOLOGY. 169 



His mother was supposed to be a virgin, according to the 
Chinese fable of their Fo. 

Tezcatlipoca, though called the youngest of the gods, 
was, nevertheless, held to have been the creator. Tlaloe, 
the god of the waters, was reckoned the oldest of the gods. 
Quetzalcohuatl, the god of the winds, had a circular 
temple dedicated to him. Mictlanteuctli was the prince 
of hell, who, with his wife, Mictlancihuatl, were objects 
of great veneration. Nahuatzin was the representative of 
the sun, who, although a mortal, leaped into a fire, which 
Tezcatlipoca had kindled, and from that time shone forth 
as the god of day. 

The Mexicans believed that, previously to the present 
age, there had been four others, in each of which the several 
races of men had been destroyed, with the exception of two 
persons, who had been preserved. The first race they sup- 
posed to have been destroyed by famine ; the second by 
fire ; the third by wind ; and the fourth by a flood : in this 
latter case, a man named Coxcox, or Tespi, and his wife, 
Xochiquetzal, were preserved in a boat, and their preserva- 
tion was represented by a piece of Mexican picture-writing, 
as mentioned by the Spanish writers, who saw it on their 
invasion of the country. 

There is another Mexican painting, preserved in the 
Vatican, which represents a woman in conversation with a 
6erpent erect, whom the Mexicans called " Woman of our 
flesh." In addition to this representation of the fall, the 
Mexicans had a colossal figure, representing a serpent swal- 
lowing a woman. 

Under the Peruvian mythology, we find mention of 
Pachachamac, Pachamama. and Mamachocha, as their 
deities. 

Pachachamac, or Mango- Capac, had a magnificent 
temple at Pachachama, the ruins of which are still to be 
seen. The Peruvians held this deity in such reverence, 
that they dared not even to look on his image. The priests 
entered the temple with their backs turned towards the 
altar. 

Pachamama was the goddess of the earth, and Mama- 
cocha the mother of the sea. 

p 



170 POLYNESIAN AND HOTTENTOT MYTHOLOGY. 

The Peruvians did not practise the sanguinary rites of 
the Mexicans, but both held the sun and moon in particular 
veneration. The Peruvians, indeed, preserved fire, which they 
looked upon as the emblem of the sun, with the same reli- 
gious care as the Romans, and had their vestal virgins to 
tend this object of their veneration. They likewise regarded 
their incas, or kings, with the same reverence, as they be- 
lieved them to be descendants of the sun. At their decease, 
their wives and domestics sacrificed themselves, by being 
buried alive with them — a practice similar to the suttees, 
now in use in India. 

The Peruvians have a tradition, that the world was once 
destroyed by a deluge, in which the whole human race 
perished, except seven persons, who escaped, and hid them- 
selves in the caves of mountains. As soon as the rain 
ceased, they sent out two dogs, but they returned so covered 
with mud, that they concluded the flood had not abated ; 
but afterwards, sending out two other dogs, who returning 
quite dry, they concluded that they might leave their place 
of refuge. 

The Brazilians have a similar tradition respecting the 
deluge. 



CHAPTER LXVII. 

POLYNESIAN AND HOTTENTOT MYTHOLOGY. 

By Polynesia, a Greek word signifying many islands, are 
to be understood, the several clusters of islands in the South 
Pacific Ocean, known by the name of the Moluccas, the 
Philippines, the Ladrone Islands, the Carolines, the Pelew 
Islands, and the Sandwich Islands. 

In the Polynesian mythology, the first thing worthy of 
observation is, that, agreeably to the belief of almost every 
other nation, the origin of things is ascribed to a state of 
chaos ; but their fables, respecting the creation itself, accords 
most with the Brahminical account. 



POLYNESIAN AND HOTTENTOT MYTHOLOGY. 



171 



Their superior gods are said to be born of the Night, 
which reminds us of the Greek theogony, already men- 
tioned. Of these, Taaroa, who acted the part of the Indian 
Brahma, as creator, is the first in rank, and, next to him, 
his consort, Ofeufeumaiterai. Oro, the son of these two 
deities, the national idol of Raiatea, Eimeo, and some of 
the other islands, was the god of war, to whom human sa- 
crifices were offered in an especial manner. Raitubu, or 
the Sky-producer, another son of Taaroa, was so called 
because he produced the heavenly bodies and the sky, at the 
command of his father. To these may be added Raa, and 
his wife Otupapa ; Tane, the tutelary idol of Huaheine, and 
his goddess Tanfairei, who were all numbered among the 
principal gods, as being born of Night, although inferior in 
rank to Taaroa and Oro. 

These deities were, with some variations, acknowledged 
throughout all Polynesia. 

There were many inferior deities, who were supposed not 
to be born of Night, but, for the most part, to be renowned 
men w T ho had been deified. Among these were, Roo, 
Tank, Teiri, probably Tairi, the principal idol of the 
Sandwich Islands, Tefatu, Ruanuu, Moe, Teepa, Puaua, 
Tefatuture, Opaevai, Ha an a, and Taumure. These all 
received the homage of the people, and were acknowledged 
among the gods of Tahiti. 

Although they regarded their gods as objects of fear, 
rather than love, and as having power to inflict evil, but not 
the will to exert benevolence, yet there are some few ex- 
ceptions to this general rule. Roo, or Tane, Temaru, 
Feimata, and Teruharuhatai, were supposed able to 
restrain the effects of sorcery. Tama and Tetuahura- 
huru were their gods of surgery, and Oititi, or Rearea 
was their iEsculapius. 

Some of their gods presided over the mechanic arts, 
Oihanu, or Ofanu, over husbandry; Taneetchia over 
carpenters and wheelwrights ; Nenia and Topla, over the 
builders of thatched houses ; Tahaura over fishermen ; and 
Matatini over fishing-net makers. 

They had very many gods of the ocean, the two chief of 
which were Tuaraatai and Ruahatu, who were called 



172 POLYNESIAN AND HOTTENTOT MYTHOLOGY. 



shark-gods, because they were supposed to employ the 
sharks as their agents. 

The gods of the air were no less numerous than those of 
the sea : the chief of these were Veromatautoru and 
Tairibu, who had hurricanes and tempests at their com- 
mand. 

They had also some evil deities ; among others, Heva, 
the god of ghosts and apparitions, and Hiro, the god of 
thieves. 

Besides the above-mentioned deities, each place, as also 
each principal family, had its tutelary deity, answering to 
the Penates ; and also spirits, particularly the spirits of 
their departed relatives, of which they were very much 
afraid, and sought, in various ways, to deprecate their dis- 
pleasure : these latter were like the Lemures, or Larvae, of 
the Romans. 

Among the animate objects of their worship were certain 
kinds of birds and fishes, particularly a sort of heron. 

The general name of god, in the Polynesian islands, is 
Atua, or Akua, sometimes pronounced tua y which bears ft 




POLYNESIAN IDOL. MANTIS. POLTNE 9 IAN ZBOlw 



THE PRAYING MANTIS. 



173 



close affinity to the tev of the Mexicans, the deva of the 
Sanscrit, and the deus of the Romans, &c. 

Their idols were either rude misshapen logs of wood, or 
pillars of uncarved stone ; or, if carved, were made in 
hideous shapes ; but it appears that they attached less value 
to the log than to the atua that they imagined was in it. 

In their processions they used a sacred flag, which they 
regarded as an emblem of their deity ; but the feather of a 
certain bird was what they deemed to be most acceptable 
to their gods, and was, therefore, oftenest chosen as the 
medium of communication. 

The worship of these islanders consisted in prayers, offer- 
ings, and sacrifices ; their offerings consisted of every 
thing which they held to be valuable. Their sacrifices con- 
sisted, but too often, of human victims, who were either cap- 
tives taken in war, or persons of their own community, who, 
having rendered themselves obnoxious to the chiefs or 
priests, were marked out and kidnapped, when the occasion 
called for such sacrifices ; this was either at the commence- 
ment of a war, at great national festivals, during the illness 
of their rulers, or on the erection of their temples. 

The Polynesians had likewise their oracles and auguries, 
very similar to what we read of among the Greeks and 
Romans, and were particularly addicted to divination and 
sorcery of every kind. 

These things are described, not as what is, but what was ; 
because, although they are still practised, yet, from the 
growing influence of Christianity, there is every reason to 
hope that the total downfal of idolatry in those parts is not 
very distant. 

Considering the affinity which their scheme of mythology 
bears to that of the Hindoos and Asiatics generally, it is 
not surprising to find that they have traditions respecting 
the creation of man and the deluge ; but for the want of 
every kind of record, the accuracy of their accounts is less 
to be relied on than that of those already mentioned. 

The Mantis, which was, if it be not now, the god of the 
Hottentots, is, as is well known, an insect, one species of 
which is apt to assume a praying attitude, and, on that 
account, has acquired the epithet of the " Praying Mantis." 
p3 



174 



CONCLUSION. 



Its general name " Mantis," from a Greek word, signifying 
a soothsayer, was given to it probably for the same reason. 
The veneration in which this insect was held by the natives 
of Southern Africa was such, that they would fall down on 
their knees, and pray to it with extraordinary fervour ; and 
if, by any accident, they killed any one of them, they ex- 
pected to be unfortunate for the rest of their lives. 



CONCLUSION. 

It will be obvious to the reader of the foregoing sheets, 
how much mythologists are indebted to the Bible for the 
subject matter of their fictions. At the same time it is 
not to be expected to find anything like consistency and 
order in their fables. It is only in a partial degree that 
coincidences between truth and falsehood can be discovered, 
in the midst of all the trash which is confusedly and wan- 
tonly put together. The inventors of these tales gave an 
unrestrained loose to their imaginations, and were, it should 
seem, never better pleased than when they could most 
effectually disguise and pervert the truth. Hence it is that 
we find in their stories, persons and events brought together 
in connexion, which, as narrated in the Bible, are the most 
remote from each other. Thus, for example, the legends 
respecting Bacchus, contain circumstances that relate to 
Nimrod, Noah, and Moses ; and what is related of Moses 
may be found scattered in the fables respecting Jupiter, 
Bacchus, and others. And as to the patriarch Noah, every 
scheme of mythology abounds with allusions, in different 
parts, to the circumstances of his life and character. 

It must be borne in mind that the fictions of mythology 
were not invented in ignorance of divine truth, but with a 
wilful intention to pervert it ; not made only by men of pro- 
fligate lives and daring impiety, who preferred darkness to 
light, because their deeds were evil, but by men of refinement 
and cultivation, from the oppositions of " science, falsely 
so called not made, as some are pleased to think, by priests 
only, for interested purposes, but by poets and philosophers 



CONCLUSION. 



175 



among the laity, who, careless of truth or falsehood, were 
pleased with nothing but their own corrupt imaginations and 
vain conceits. 

As the same causes naturally produce the same effects, 
the misuse of the Bible is not confined to those who did 
not admit its authority, but believers in divine revelation 
have, in all ages, contributed to its corruption; the Jews, 
by their absurd Talmudical traditions, — the Mahometans, 
by the daring imposture of their leader, — and the Christians 
by their fanciful speculations. 



QUESTIONS. 



Introduction. 

What is the meaning of the word Mythology ? 

What is the meaning of the word Idolatry ? When did idolatry 
first begin to prevail ? What examples of idolatry are mentioned in 
Scripture ? What is the principal cause of idolatry ? Were the objects 
of worship grand or not ? Enumerate some of these objects. 

Why were men exalted to the rank of gods ? Who was first 
deified ? By whom ? 

To whom has the study of mythology been chiefly interesting ? To 
whom ought it to be so? And why ? 

What history is proved by fables to be true ? What events of the 
Bible are to be traced in those fables ? What persons are alluded to 
in those fables ? 

CHAP. I. — Grecian and Roman Mythology. 

From whom did the Greeks borrow their mythology ? By whom 
was it introduced into Greece ? What matters did they borrow ? 

What had the Greeks and Romans in common ? In what did they 
differ? And why ? 

From whom did the Etrurians get their mythology? 

From whom did the Romans borrow many of their fables ? And 
when ? 

Into how many classes are the gods of the Greeks and Romans 
divided? • 

What is understood by the superior gods? Why called Select? 
Why Consentes ? How many are they ? Over what times are they 
supposed to preside ? 

What deities are to be added ? Why called Celestial, Terrestrial, &c. 

What were the inferior gods ? What the third class ? 

Who are the Novensiles ? 

What of the moral virtues deified ? 



QUESTIONS. 



177 



CHAP. II.— Chaos and the Creation. 

. Who was Chaos ? Who were his supposed children ? 

Who was Tellus ? Who her supposed son ? Whom did she marry ? 
Of whom were Tellus and Ccelum the parents ? 

Who sprang from the union of Erebus and Nox ? 

What preceded the creation, according to Hesiod ? With whose 
account does this agree ? 

How do Hesiod and Moses agree as to the abyss ? How as to the 
darkness ? How does Hesiod speak of the stars ? How represented 
in the Bible ? 

What of the mountains and seas of Hesiod ? What does Moses 
say of them ? 

What does Hesiod mean by Tellus and Caelum ? How is this re- 
presented in the Mosaic account ? 

From whom did the Romans borrow their account of the creation ? 
How does Ovid describe the chaos ? 
Who were the first settlers in Italy ? 

What time, according to the fabulous account, was taken in the 
creation of the world ? By whom is this account given ? In what 
does this account agree with the Mosaic account I 

CHAP. III.— Saturn. 

Who were the supposed parents of Saturn T Who the brothers f 
Who the sisters ? 

Who was Titan ? To whom did he yield his right ? 

Whom did Saturn devour I Were any of his children saved I 
And how ? 

What does the stone in the fable allude to ? 

How did Titan proceed against Saturn ? Who released Saturn 
from Tartarus ? 

Why did Jupiter rebel against his father ? 
By whom was Saturn received in Italy? And how t 
How were Saturn and Janus represented on coins ? 
What happened under the reign of Saturn ? 

How was Italy anciently called ? And after whom 1 So the Capi- 
toline Hill ? So the festival I 

How is Saturn sometimes represented ? What sort of a god was 
he esteemed to be ? .. How did they sacrifice to him ? 

CHAP. IV.— Saturn (continued). 

What is the derivation of the Latin name Saturnus ? What does 
the Greek name Chronos mean ? How is the fable of his devouring 
his children explained 1 Why is he sometimes represented with 
chains ? What are his usual representations ? What do the legends 
of Saturn allude to ? 

What was considered to oe the Golden Age? 

What the Silver Age ? 

What the Brazen Age? 

What the Iron Age ? 



178 



QUESTIONS 



What do these four ages represent ? 

Why is Saturn supposed to be Adam ? And why Nimrod ? la 
what does Saturn agree with Noah, as to language ? In what as to 
his sons ? 

What of Ham ? Of Japhet ? Of Shem ? 
What as to planting vineyards ? 
, What of a ship ? 

CHAP. V.— Cybele. 

Who was Cybele ? What were her other names? How were sacri- 
fices to her performed ? What trees were sacred to her ? Who were 
her priests ? How is she usually represented ? Where did her wor- 
ship first commence? When was she first known in Italy? What 
fable is told of her arrival at Rome ? With what deity is she often 
confounded ? 

CHAP. VI. — Aurora. 

Who was she the daughter of, according to Hesiod ? Who was she 
the harbinger of ? And how is she described by the poets ? Who 
was her husband? What children had they? Who was she the 
mother of by Tithonus? What became of this Tithonus ? 

What of Memnon ? What birds were called after him ? What of 
his statue ? 

Why did the Romans give her the name of Aurora, and the Greeks 
that of Eous ? 

CHAP. VII.— Jupiter. 

Were there more than one deity of this name 1 To whom are the 
attributes ascribed ? When did Jupiter ascend the throne ? What 
happened after ? In what wars was he engaged ? What division of 
the universe did he make ? With whom ? Who are made to be his 
attendants ? What birth-places have been assigned to him ? And 
what nurses ? 

What was the horn of plenty ? 

How many wives are assigned to him ? And children ? How is he 
represented ? What does the sceptre import ? What the eagle ? 
What is remarkable of his statues ? In what character have artists 
represented him ? 

CHAP. VIII. — Jupiter (continued). 

What appellations have been given to Jupiter? State the reasons 
for the principal ? What was he called by distinction? 

What character of Jupiter is illustrated by anecdotes? What of 
Lycaon 1 What of Philemon and Baucis ? What allusion is there 
here to the Bible ? 

Under what names was Jupiter worshipped? By the Greeks? 
By the Babylonians? In Libya? In E?ypt ? In Ethiopia? In 
Phoenicia ? Among the Sydouians ? At Gaza ? By the Romans ? 



QUESTIONS. 



179 



What does the rebellion of the giants remind us of? What of the 
deluge? What of the division "of the world? What of Jupiter 
Amnion ? 

CHAP. IX.— Juno. 

Who is Juno made to be ? And what birth-place assigned to her ? 
Whom had she as attendants ? What was the office of Iris ! 

Io what manner is Juno represented ? When as a matron ? What 
holding in her hands ? What is remarkable of her worship ? At 
Argos, at Corinth, and Olympia ? At Rome ! What appellations are 
given? The reasons for the most important? How is she com- 
monly described? As the wife of Jupiter, what of her? In the 
Trojan war. how did she act? What does her Latin name denote ? 
What is her Greek name ? Why given ? What are said to be her 
children ! 

What of Hebe, her daughter ? How represented i 
CHAP. X.— Neptune. 

How is he described ? What is said of him at the war with the 
giants? Also in the division of the universe ? In what conspiracy 
is he said to have been engaged 1 And what was the consequence ? 
In what controversy also was he engaged ? Who is made to be the 
victor ? And why ? What wives are assigned to him ? Who was 
Amphitrite ? 

Why is the dolphin said to have been placed among the constel- 
lations I 

What children are attributed to him ? How is he usually repre- 
sented ? What of his trident ? What of the Sea-nymphs and 
Tritons ? Where was he most honoured ? 

What of the promontory of Taenarium ? 

What games were consecrated to him? At Corinth, where? At 
Rome, what called ? How celebrated ? What victims were offered 
to him ? What part in particular ? What appellations were give* 
to him ? And why ? 

What was a horse the symbol of? 

Who is Neptune supposed to represent ? What is his Latin namef 
How derived? What his Greek name, and the derivation ! 

CHAP. XI.— Pluto. 

How is Pluto described ? What portion allotted to him ? And why ? 

Where are the Infernal Regions supposed to have lain t 

What office is assigned to Piuto ! And what power ? How is he 
usually represented ? What of the key, and the three-headed dog ? 
What of his helmet? By whom worn I And his chariot and horses ? 
How is he said to have procured a wife \ How is she called in Latin ? 
How in Greek ? How is she represented ! What is sacrificed to her? 

What does the Greek and Latin name of Pluto denote ? From 
whom is he to be distinguished ? What are his appellations ? And 
the reasons for the principal of them? To whom of the patriarchs 
does he bear the greatest resemblance ? 



180 



QUESTIONS. 



CHAP. XII.— Cerej. 

How is Ceres described ? And her children f What did she bring 
forth instead of a daughter ? What of her son jPiutus ? 
What is Ceres made to be the goddess of? 
What is related of Triptolemus ? 

How is she commonly represented ? What of the com ? And the 
lighted torch? What is she said to have done when she missed her 
daughter Proserpine ? 

In what manner is Jupiter said to have complied with her request ? 

What is understood by the fable ? What of her carrying poppies ? 
What were the principal festivals in honour of her ? What is her 
Latin name, and its derivation? What the Greek name, and the 
derivation ? What appellations had she ? 

CHAP. XIII.— Vesta the Younger. 

How is this goddess described ? And from whom distinguished ? 
What is she fabled to have obtained from her brother Jupiter? How 
was she honoured by the Romans ? How did they keep the sacred 
fire ? What was the consequence of its being extinguished by acci- 
dent ? And how was it renewed ? 

Who were the Vestals? How many? What laws and punish- 
ments were they subject to ? By what privileges were they distin- 
guished ? 

Why was Vesta considered to be the goddess of fire ? When had 
she statues and when not ! Was she a Roman or Grecian deity ? 
And. what her origin ? And how worshipped by the Greeks ? 

CHAP. XIV.— Minerva; 

What is the fable of Minerva's divinity and origin ? And how many 
goddesses of the name ? How is she commonly represented ? What 
of her buckler ? And her shield ? What birds are sacred to her ? 
And what plants and animals ? What is her Latin name and its 
derivation? And her Greek name ? What appellations had she ? And 
what festivals celebrated in honour of her? From whom did the 
Greeks borrow the idea of this goddess ? 



CHAP. XV.— Mars. 

How is this god described ? And by whom fabled to have been 
nursed? How usually represented ? With what attendants ? And 
who his charioteer ? 

Who is Bellona? How called in the Greek ? And why? What of 
her priests ? 

Of whom is Mars made the father ? What is he called among the 
Romans ? And what are they called after him ? What is his Latin 
and Greek name ? And what the derivation of the same ? How is he 
called by other people ? 



QUESTIONS. 



181 



CHAP. XVI.— Latona. 

Whose daughter is Latona described to be? And of whom the 
mother ? How is she said to have been treated by Juno ? How did 
she escape? And whither? 

What is related of the island of Delos, in relation to her? What 
was thought of it afterwards by the ancients ? 

Who is said to have compared herself with Latona ? And what 
was the consequence of her so doing ? Did she resent any other 
affronts towards herself? 

What is the derivation ? 

What is the story of the floating island borrowed from ? What is 
supposed to be represented by it ? 

CHAP. XVII.— Apollo. 

How many Apollos were there among the ancients ? Which is the 
Apollo by distinction ? What was the distinction between Apollo 
and the sun? By what other name called? By whom are Apollo 
and the sun reckoned as one deity? What were the attributes of 
Apollo ? Did these attributes refer to the sun ? What animals were 
sacred to him? What plants? What exploits are ascribed to him? 
As to destroying ihe Cyclops ? And the consequences to himself ? As 
to raising the walls of what city ? As to killing the serpent Python ? 
As to Midas king of Phrygia? Who are supposed, to have been his 
children ? » 

What is related of Phaeton ? 



CHAP. XVIII.— Apollo (continued). 

What was the worship of Apollo ? What his temples ? His fesfi- 
vals ? The sacrifices to him by young men and maidens, what ? 
What is the derivation of the name ? How is he usually represented ? 
In" his threefold character? With what animals? What is the 
finest production of art by which he is represented ? What does the 
Apollo of the Greeks answer to ? 

CHAP. XIX.— Diana. 

How is she described ? What different characters had she ? On 
earth? In heaven? And in the Infernal Regions? What is she 
supposed to have obtained from Jupiter? And what sort of life to 
have led? When is she said to have left off hunting? And what 
did the ancients do under this belief? What appellations were given 
to her ? And for what reasons ? 

What is the story of Iphigenia? From what part of the Bible is 
this borrowed ? 

What was the most famous temple dedicated to her? What is 
remarkable of Diana as Hecate? What of her Latin and Greek 
names, and their derivation— Diana ? Luna ? Hecate ? 

Q 



182 



QUESTIONS. 



CHAP. XX.— Mercury. 

How many deities were there of this name ? Which was the most 
famous ? What offices were assigned, to him ? As messenger of the 
gods ? As servant of the gods ? As attendant upon the dead ? What 
arts are ascribed to him ? As to commerce ? Thieving ? Wrestling ? 
&c. What was he esteemed by the Greeks and "Romans ? What of 
his statues ? Where did they place them ? What sacrifices were 
offered to him ? And when ? What festivals were celebrated to him ? 
How many temples had he at Rome? How is he usually repre- 
sented ? What is his Latin name ? What his Greek name 1 And 
what their derivation 1 

CHAP. XXI.— Bacchus. 

Who is the celebrated god of this name ? What are the fables of 
Jiis birth and education ? What exploits are ascribed to him ? What 
appellations given to him ? What festivals celebrated to him ? What 
victims agreeable to him ? What trees sacred to him ? What temples 
erected to him I 

CHAP. XXII. — Bacchus {continued). 

What is the character given of Bacchus ? What is ascribed to 
him? What are the representations of him? In what character is 
he mostly depicted? How are the representations of him explained ? 

By whom was Bacchus, as the god of wine, first conceived ? As a 
conqueror, by whom ? What of his names? What legends respecting 
Bacchus are taken from the Bible ? As to his wrestling? As to an 
ark, sacred to him ? As to his name ? And being a law-giver ? And 
his appellation ? As to his being shut up in an ark ? As to the ser- 
pents aiid dog ? As to the water from the rock ? As to the drying 
up rivers 1 As to his ivy-stick ? As to the darkness ? 

CHAP. XXIII.— Vulcan. 

Who was the Vulcan most known ? How is he described ? What 
is fabled respecting his expulsion from heaven 1 And the island 
Lemnos ? What residence is assigned to him ? What employment ? 
What skill ? Who is he said to have married ? What festivals were 
celebrated to him ? What sacrifices to him ? What appellations of 
him ? Who are said to have been the servants of Vulcan ? How is 
he usually represented ? How are his Latin and Greek names de- 
rived ? And his mythology, from what sources ? 

CHAP. XXIV.— Venus. 

Who is the celebrated Venus ? What is said to be her origin ? 
What the circumstances attending her birth? Whither carritd? 
And by whom ? How attended ? And how received ? What is she 
made the goddess of ? 



QUESTIONS. 



183 



How is Cupid described ? 

What is the story of Pyramus and Thisbe? 

What temples had this goddess ? And where ? What sacrifices were 
offered to her ? What birds sacred to her ? What appellations given 
to her ? What the derivation of her Latin and Greek names ? How 
is she represented ? By whom attended ? What of her cestus ? 

CHAP. XXV.— The Graces. 

How many of the Graces? Their general name, and their par- 
ticular names? How described ? Aylaia? Thalia? Euphrosyne ? 
How represented? The reasons for such representation? What 
were the first images of them? What afterwards ? In what temple? 
What temple was first dedicated to them ? What festivals celebrated 
to them ? When invoked ? And how ? By whom were these deities 
first conceived ? By whom afterwards adopted ? 

CHAP. XXVI.— The Muses. 

How many of the Muses ? The supposed daughters of whom ? 
And born, where ? What were their particular names and attributes ? 
Of Calliope? Clio? Erato? Thalia? Melpomene? Terpsichore? 
Euterpe? Polyhymnia? Urania? What their general names? 
And how represented ? And where? 

From whom did the Greeks, as is supposed, borrow their idea of 
these deities ? 

CHAP. XXVIL— Furies^and Fates. 

Whose daughters are the Furies said to be 1 How many of them ? 
What are their general names ? And what their particular names ? 
Alecio? Megcera ? Tisiphone ? How were they represented by the 
Greeks? And what were the sentiments of the Greeks towards 
them ? Who dedicated a temple to them ? And where ? What of 
their temple at Athens ? And their priests]? Where were they highly 
honoured? What were their priastesses called ? And what of their 
sacrifices ? 

How many of the Fates were there ? What their general names ? 
And why so called ? How are they described ? What their particular 
Dames ? And why so called ? 

How are the Fates represented generally? Clotho? Lachesis? 
Atropost 

CHAP. XXVIII.— Nox, Mors, and Somnus. 

Whose daughter is Sox represented to be ? And what does : 
Orpheus ascribe to her? What were the supposed offspring of Nox 1 
And what the sacrifices to her ? 

How is Mors described ? What did her supposed mother for her ? 
And why no rites performed to her ? 

What is Somnus said to be? How represented? 



184 



QUESTIONS. 



CHAP. XXIX.— Themis, Astrjea, and Nem"esis. 

"What does Themis imply ? Who are her supposed parents? And 
"what her character? Of whom was she the supposed wife? And 
who her children? What of the Horae ? 

What is Themis called by Eusebius ? And why ? 

How is Astrcea described ? What became of her when she left the 
earth ? 

Whose daughter is Nemesis said to be ? And what her office ? 

CHAP. XXX. — Discord and Momus. 

Whose children are these deities described to be? 

How does Homer describe Discord T How is she represented ? 
Why did the ancients olfer up prayers to her ? 

What of Momus ? What character is assigned to him? How did 
he show his temper in deciding between Neptune, Minerva, and 
Vulcan? 

CHAP. XXXI.— Rural Deities. \ 
What deities are included under this head ? 

What of Pan ? What was he famous for ? When is he said to have 
assisted Jupiter? What terrors is he said to have occasioned ? And 
when ? „What country is said to have derived its name from him? 
How is he commonly represented ? What do the poets ascribe to 
him? From whom is this deity supposed to be borrowed ? What 
does he bear a resemblance to ? What tale is related of his death ? 
What is understood by this tale ? 

Who was Pales, in the Roman mythology ? And what festival cele- 
brated in honour of her ? 

CHAP. XXXII. — Rural Deities (continued). 

What of Sylvanus ? What of Silenus ? How is he represented ? 
What is understood by the legends respecting him ? In what points 
is he made to resemble our Saviour? 

What of the Satyrs and Fauns ? What of Priapus, Aristeeus, and 
Terminus ? What were the statues of this last deity ? How were 
they esteemed by the Romans? 

Who was Flora ? To whom said to be married? From whom did 
the Romans derive this deity ? How is she represented ? 

Why is Vertumnus so called ? What was he the god of, in the 
Roman mythology ? 

What was Pomona the goddess of? What of the Dryads and Hama- 
dryads'* 

CHAP. XXXIII.— Marine Deities. 

Who were reckoned among the Marine Deities ? 
What of Nereus ? Of Triton ? Of Proteus ? How is this last parti- 
cularly distinguished ? 



QUESTIONS. 



185 



How are the Sirens described? How many in number? Changed 
into what form? And why? Who are the Sea-Nymphs said to be? 
What of Achelous t And his horn? 

CHAP. XXXIV.— Gods of the Winds. 

What is the genealogy of these gods? How are they represented 
at Athens? Under what names, and by what description? Of Bo- 
reas? Cecias? Jpelioies! Eur us? lotus? Libs? Zephyrus? Scvront 

What is placed on the top of the temple ? 

How is iEolus described? Where is he feigned to have resided? 
Where to have confined the winds ? 

from whom did the Greeks borrow the worship of the winds? 

CHAP. XXXV —Domestic Deities. 
What are comprehended under these deities ? 

What of the Penates? From whom did the Romans derive them ? 
How many orders of them? What is the name of the first order? 
Of the second? Of the third? What was sacred to the Penates? 
How were they represented ? What were they the same as ? 

What were "the Lares? How were they distinguished? What of 
the private Lares? Of the Prcpstit-s, Gf the Compitales? Of the 
Urbani? Of the Rurales? Of the Marini? What sacrifices were 
offered to them? 

V\hat were the Manes supposed to be? And what their office? 

What of the Lemur es or Larvcc* How are the same distinguished? 

What was understood by the Genius or Damon? What sacrinces 
were offered to them? 

What were the Nuptial Deities? How many presided over every 
marriage? Who was Hymenaus? 

What deities presided over families, among the Romans? Who 
was Libitina? 

CHAP. XXXVI. — Heroes axd Demigods. 

Who was Hercules? What of his birth? What story is told of 
him in his cradle ? What of- his twelve labours ? Of the Xemaean 
lion? OftheH}dra? Of the Erymanthean boar ? Of the hind CEnoe? 
Of the Stymphalides ? Of the Augean stable? Of the Cretan bull? 
Of the mares of Diomedes ? Of Hippolite ? Of the oxen of Geryon ? 
Of the dragon? Of Cerberus? How did he deliver Hesione? 

What person mentioned in the Bible is Hercules most like? 

What of the origin and name of Hercules? Which is the finest 
representation of this hero ? 

CHAP. XXXVII.— Demigods and Heroes {continued). 

What is related of Janus? Who is he supposed to have been, 
How he is painted, and why? By what epithets is he described? 

What of Clavijer? Wnar. of janitor? What of the key? What 
appellations had he? Andwhv? 

Q 3 



136 



QUESTIONS. 



CHAP. XXXVIII.— -Demigods and Heroes (continued). 

What of Inachus ? What of the fable of Io ? What of the deluge 

in his days? 

Who was Argus ? What befel him ? 

What is remarkable of Castor and Pollux ? Which was immortal, 
and which mortal ? What did Pollux obtain for his brother I How 

are they represented? 

" What was JEJsculapius the god of? Where was he particularly 
worshipped ? And under what figure ? What does this allude to in 
the Bible 1 Who was the Greek deity of this name ? 

CHAP. XXXIX. — Demigods and Heroes (continued). 

Who was Perseus the son of? What became of him and his 
mother ? Wtiofn did Perseus slay 1 What was the property of Me- 
dusa's head ? Whom did Perseus kill accidentally ? What allusions 
does his story contain ? ' < 

What of Amphitryon ? What fable connected with him and Jupiter 
was drawn from the Bible ? 

CHAP. XL.— t.Demigods and Heroes (continued).", 

Who is Prometheus said to have been ? What is fabled of him ? 
What is Jupiter said to have done in resentment ? What was the 
name of the woman ? What was given to Pandora ? 

Who was Epimetheus? What does the story allude to? 
' What of Deucalion ? What is related of him ? 

What of the deluge ? 

CHAP. XLI. — Demigods and Heroes (continued). 

Who was Atlas ? What of his daughter by his wife Pleione ? And 
by his wife (Ethra? 

What of Hesperus ? What became of him ? Who were his daugh- 
ters ? In what garden were they placed ? And for what purpose? In 
allusion to what in the Bible ? 

CHAP. XLII. — Demigods and Heroes (continued). 

What of Orpheus ? What is fabled of him and his wife Eurydice ? 
In allusion to what in the Bible ? What became of him ? 

What is Amphion famous for ? Whom did he marry ? What befel 
him? 

What was Arion said to be skilled in ? What story is told of him f 

CHAP. XLIII. — Demigods and Heroes (continued).* 

Who was Theseus? What was he celebrated for? What was his 
adventure with Procrustes? What as to the Minotaur? By whose 
assistance did he succeed in this last exploit? What befel his father! 

What of Bellerophon ? Whither did he fly ? What expedition was 
he engaged in ? By whose aid did he succeed? What events of th©- 
Bible are to be found in his story ? 



QUESTIONS. 



187 



CHAP. XLIV. — Demigods and Heroes (continued). 

"Whose supposed son was Minos? What his office ? What story is 
told on his invasion of Attica ? In allusion to what in the Bible? 
What person in Scripture is represented by him? 

Who were the other two Judges of Hell ? 

What is remarkable of Cadmus ? 

What is the story of (Edipus ? And the Sphinx ? What riddle 
did she propose to him ? 

CHAP. XLV. — Demigods and Heroes (continued). 

What is related of Pelops ? Of Tan talus? Of CEnomaus? OiNiobe? 
Of Agamemnon? Of Atreus? What legend taken from the Bible is 
related in regard to him ? 

What of Achilles? Of Ulysses? Of Penelope? OiMneas? Of 
Romulus ? 

CHAP. XLVI.— Moral Deities. 1 

What is to be understood by the Moral Deities ? Who were they ? 
What of Piety ? Of Mercy ? Of Chastity ? Of Health ? Of Con- 
tumely? Of Fortune? Of Silence? 

CHAP. XLVIL— Infernal Regions.^ 1 

What were the supposed rivers of the Infernal Regions ? What 
of Acheron ? Of Styx ? Of Cocytus ? Of Phlegethon ? Into how 
many regions does Virgil divide them ? What of the first region ? 
Of the second? Of Erebus and Cerberus? Of Tartarus? Who 
were the condemned there ? What of Elysium? What of the river 
lethe? 

What circumstances in the Scripture narrative form the ground- 
work of these fictions ? Mention some of these. 

^CHAP. XLVIII. — Argonautic Expedition. 

r What was the Argonautic expedition ? What were they called 
who engaged in it ? Is the Grecian story supposed to be founded on 
any reality ? From whom was it borrowed ? What does the whole 
refer to ? 

CHAP. XLIX. L. LI. LII. LIIL— Egyptian Mythology. 

Who were the first gods of the Egyptians ? 

What of Phtha ? Of Cneph ? Of Neith I Of Athor f 

What deities were afterwards worshipped by the Egyptians ? 

Who was Osiris the prototype of? Under what form was he sup- 
posed to reappear 1 

Who was Isis the prototype of? What of Typhon ? What do the 
legends of Osiris, Isis and Typhon refer to in the Scriptures ? 

What of Nepthys ? Of Horus ? Of Bubastis ? Of Buto ? Of 
Harpocrates? OUAnubis? Of Mendest Of Serapis ? Of Thoihf 
Of Nilus ? Of Canopus ? ' 



188 



QUESTIONS. 



What were the two remarkable features in the mythology of the 
Egyptians? What quadrupeds were objects of worship? What birds? 
What reptiles? What insects? What fishes? What plants? What 
minerals ? To what animals did they pay extraordinary honours ? 
What of the Apis? Of the Mnevis? What of the burial of their 
sacred animals ? 

What of the Egyptian Teraphimt 

CHAP. LIV. — Chaldean and Babylonian Mythology. 

Who was Oannes? What does the legend respecting him refer to? 

What were the particular objects of worship among the Chaldaeans ? 

What were the two principal deities of the Babylonians? 

What kings were called after Baal? 

What of Merodach ? Of Nebo ? Of A lytta ? 

CHAP. LV.— Syrian and Phoenician Mythology. 

Where was Baal particularly worshipped? And under what names? 

What of Baal Ber/th? Of Baal- Gad? Of Baal-Peor? Of Baal- 
Semen? Of Baal-Zebub? Of Rimmon? Of A dad? Of Elagabalus? 
Of Ag libolus? Of Malechbelus? Of Dag on? Of Derceto? What 
do these two last deities refer to? What of Mamas? What of 
Mo loch ? What of Anamalek and A dramalek ? What of Mylitta ? 

CHAP. LVL — Syrian and Phoenician Mythology {continued). 

What were the two principal deities of Phoenicia? What is under- 
stood by Adonis? What is Astarte the prototype of? What did the 
festival in honour of Adonis commemorate? From what mysteries 
is it supposed to have been borrowed? 

What were the Cabiri? What Grecian festivals are supposed to 
have been borrowed from the Cabiric or Samothracian mysteries? 

What is Astarte called in Scripture ? 

What of Melcartus? 

CHAP. LVII. LVIII. LIX. — Hindoo Mythology and Buddhism. 

What does the Hindoo mythology consist of? What of Brahm? 
What of Brahma, Vishnou, and Seeva? What is the legend respecting 
them supposed to be borrowed from ? 

What is the Hindoo legend of the Creation? 

What of the avatars of Vishnou? What does the first avatar 
refer to? Who were the consorts of these three deities? What of 
Saraswati? Of La hsmi? Of Parvati? What sprung from the union 
of these deities? What of Kartiktja? Of Camac? Of the Rishtis 
or Menus? Particularly the first and seventh? What of the Sums? 
Of the Asoors? Of the Apsaras? Of Creishnat Of Juggernaut? 
Of Ganesa? 

In what point did the Hindoo and Grecian mythology correspond? 

What of Buddha? Where was Buddha worshipped? What legend 
of him among the Sinhalese? What temples are erected to him 
among the Burmese? Under what character is Buddha worshipped 
in Thibet? 



QUESTIONS. 



189 



CHAP. LX.— Chinese and Japanese Mythology. 

Under what name is Buddha worshipped in China? What allu- 
sions do the legends of Fo contain to the Bible ? 

What of the tans or altars of the Chinese ? Who offers sacrifices 
among them? . 

Have the Chinese in general any form of worship? What idols 
have they? What of Shin-Men ? Of Lui-Shin ? Of Hui-Vang? 
Of the Poosa ? To what moral attributes do they erect statues ? 

Under what name is Buddha worshipped by the Japanese? Who 
is Jemmat Who Quanoon? What allusions have they to the 
Deluge ? 



CHAP. LXI— Persian and Arabian Mythology. 

Who are the Persians ? What is their Zend-Avesta T 

Wb it of Oromasdes ? Of Arimanus ? 

What is their account of the creation ? 

Who was Mithras ? What were the symbols of him ? 

What other objects of worship had they ? Had they any temples ? 
What sacrifices did they offer ? What was the name of their priests ? 
And why so called ? 

What of the Arabian mythology ? 



CHAP. LXII. LXIII. LXIV.— Celtic Mythology and 
Druidism. 

Who were the Celts ? What of their mythology ? 

Of Druidism, and the name Druid ? Of their office and rank ? Of 
their skill, in what sciences ? Of their power ? Of their privileges ? 
How distinguished among the Gauls ? 

What antiquity is ascribed to the Celtic mythology? To what 
does it bear the most affinity? 

What deities were worshipped by the Gauls ? What of Tharamis ? 
Of Belenus ? Of Teutates ? Of Hesius ? 

What were the British deities ? What of Bel ? Of Tyiain ? Of 
Aedd ? Of Hu Gadern ? What is their legend respecting the deluge ? 

What evil spirits had the Celts in common with the Persians ? 
Where did they prefer to worship ? How far conformable with the 
patriarchal practice ? Had they any temples ? What did their reli- 
gious rites allude to ? What were their festivals in honour of ? What 
of their sacrifices ? What were their stone erections ? 

Had the Celts any images? What species of false worship had they 
in common with other heathens ? From what did it arise ? What 
else did they worship in common with the Persians ? What of their 
Paradise and their Hell ? What were they addicted to like the Per- 
sians ? What of their moral principles ? What of their triads ? 

What befel the Druids ? When did this happen ? And what became 
of the order ? 



190 



QUESTIONS. 



CHAP. LXV.— Gothic and Saxon Mythology. ' 

To what people does this mythology belong ? In what poems is it 
to be found ? Who were their principal deities ? What of Odin ? 
Of Frigga ? Of Thor ? Whom do they most resemble ? What sub- 
ordinate deities had they ? Who were their Paras ? What did they 
worship besides ? What of their heaven ? And of their hell ? 

What of the Saxon mythology ? 

What were the gods of the Germans t 

What of the Anglo-Saxon deities? 

How did the Goths and Saxons distinguish the days of the week? 

CHAP. LXVI. — Mexican and Peruvian Mythology. 

What kind of a deity had the Mexicans, in common with the 
Egyptians, Hindoos, and Persians ? Was he an object of their wor- 
ship ? What deities had they as objects of worship ? What of Vitz* 
liputzli? Of Tezcatlipoca? OlTlaloe? Of Quetzalcohuatl ? And 
the others ? 

What was the belief of the Mexicans as to the Fall of Man, and 
the Deluge ? 

What deities were worshipped by the Peruvians ? In what were 
their sacrifices distinguished from those of the Mexicans ? What 
had they in common with the Romans ? 

CHAP. LXVII. — Polynesian Mythology." 

What is comprehended under Polynesia? What were their supe- 
rior gods ? What were they born of? Who was Taaroa and Oftu- 
feumaiterai ? Who Oro, Raituhu, Raa, Otupapa, Tane, and Tanfairei ? 
What were their inferior deities ? Who presided over the mechanic 
arts ? Who over the sea and the air ? What deities had they in 
common with the Romans ? What was the name god among them I 
And with what names does this correspond ? What virtue did they 
ascribe to their wooden idols ? What did their worship consist of ? 
When did they offer human sacrifices ? Whom did they choose aa 
victims? What of their divination? Is idolatry quite abolished 
among them ? 

What is remarkable of the Mantis t 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

AcHELors. a river god 81 

Acheron, a river of hell 116 

Achilles, a Grecian hero 110 

Adad, a Syrian deity 135 

Adonis, a Phrygian deity 13" 

Adrarnalek, an idol of the As- 
syrians ib. 

jEacus. a judge of hell 106 

Aedd, a god of the Druids 160 

.Eneas, a Trojan hero Ill 

^olus. god of the winds S3 

iEsculapius, god of medicine ... 95 
Mther, offspring of Erebus and 

Nox * 8 

Agamemnon, a Grecian hero .... 109 

Ages 12 

Agiaia, one of the Graces 65 

Ahriman, a Persian deity 153 

Alecto, one of the Furies 69 

Ammon, the Lybian Jupiter 24 

Amor, offspring of Chaos 8 ; 

Amphion, a famous musician ... 101 
Araphitrite, wife of Xeptune ... 26 

Amphitryon 96 

Anadyomene, an epithet of Ve- 
nus" 64 

Anamaiek, an idol of the Assy- 
rians 137 

Andromeda, wife of Perseus 96 

Anubis. an Egyptian deity 126 

Apeliotes, a genius of the winds 82 
Aphrodite, an epithet of Venus . 61 

A >is. an Egyptian deity 130 

A :>ollo, sod of the fine "arts 43 

Arjo , 113 

Argbnautic expedition ib. 

Artrus. a keeper of Io 94 

A-imanus, a Persian rieiry 153 I 

Ar;on, a musician of Lesbos 101 ! 



PAGE 



Aristaeus, a rural deity 79 

Astarte, the Syrian Venus 137 

Astraea, goddess of Justice 73 

Astrseus. father of the winds .... 17 

Atlas, a demigod 99 

Atropos, one of the Fates 70 

Ausrean stable cleansed by Her- 
cules 89 

Aurora, daughter of Sol I 6 

Auster 83 

Avatars. incarnations of Vishnou 146 

Baal, a Syrian deity 134 

Babylonian mythology 132 

Bacchanalia, festival of Bacchus.. 55 

Bacchus, god of wine , ftc 54 

Balder, son of Odin 166 

Baucis, a Phrygian shepherd .... 23 

Bel. a god of the Druids 159 

| Bellerophon. a demigod 103 

Bcllona. goddess of War 41 

Belus. a Babylonian deity 133 

Bethulia, sacred stones 10 

Bhavani. a Hindoo goddess 143 

Bimater. an epithet of Bacchus . 5S 

Bona Dea, a name of Cybele 14 

Boreas, a genius of the north 

wind 17. S3 

Bra^a. a Gothic deity 166 

Brahm. supreme Hindoo deity... 139 

Brahma, a Hindoo deity 140 

Brahminical sect 146 

Bubastfs, an Egyptian deity 125 

Buddha, a Hindoo incarnation 

of Vishnou 147 

Bud i :sm 147 

Budsdo. a Japanese deity 152 

Bute, an Egyptian deity 125 



192 



INDEX, 



PAGE 

Cabiri, priests of Cybele and Sa- 

mothracian deities 15, 138 

Cadmus, a demigod .. 106 

Calliope, one of the Muses 67 

Camac, the Hindoo god of love... 143 
Camillus, an epithet of Mercury 52 

Canaanitish idolatry 136 

Canopus, a god of the Chaldeans 128 

Cartikya, a Hindoo deity 143 

Castor and Pollux, demigods ... 94 

Celestial gods 7 

Celtic mythology.... 156 

Cerberus, the three-headed dog 

of hell 116 

Cerealia, festivals of Ceres 36 

Ceres, goddess of husbandry 9, 35 

Cestus, the girdle of Venus 64 

Chaldsean mythology 132 

Chandra, Hindoo goddess of the 

moon 146 

Chaos, a Grecian deity 8 

Charon, the ferryman of hell ... 116 

Chastity, a Roman deity 114 

Chinese mythology 149 

Chronos, an appellation of Saturn 1 2 

Circe, a daughter of Apollo 46 

Clio, one of the Muses 67 

Clotho, one of the Parcse 70 

Clytemnestra,twin sister of Castor 94 

Cneph, an Egyptian deity 119 

Cocytus, a river of hell 116 

Ccelus, god of heaven 8 

Creation ib. 

Corybantes, priests of Cybele 15 

Creeshna, a Hindoo deity 144 

Cupid, the god of love 62 

Curetes, priests of Cybele 15 

Cybele, wife of Saturn 9, 14 

Cyclops,forgers of Jupiter's thun- 
derbolts 45 

Cynthius,an appellation of Apollo 47 

Dactyli, priests of Cybele 15 

Dagon, a god of the Philistines . 135 

Decima, one of the Fates 70 

Delius, an epithet of Apollo 47 

Delphicus, an epithet of Apollo . ib. 

Derceto 135 

Deucalion, a demigod 98 

Diana, goddess of the chase 4S 

Dictynnia, an epithet of Diana . 49 



PAGE 



Dies Pater, an appellation of Ju- 
piter 22 

Dionysia, festival of Bacchus .... 55 
Dionysius, an appellation of 

Bacchus 56 

Dirse, a name of the Furies 68 

Discord, a goddess 74 

Dius Fidius, a name of Hercules 90 

Dodonaeus, an epithet of Jupiter 22 

Druids, priests of the Britons .. 156 

Dryads, rural nymphs 80 

Dyndymene, an epithet of Cybele 14 

Edda, a book of the Gothic my- 
thology 166 

Egyptian mythology 119 

Elysium, the paradise of the 

Greeks and Romans 1 1 7 

Epimetheus, a demigod 97 

Erato, one of the Muses 67 

Erebus, one of the children of 

Chaos 8 

Erynnyes. a name of the Furies 68 
Euphrosyne, one of the Graces.. 65 
Eurus, genius of the south-east 

wind 83 

Euterpe, one of the Muses 67 

Fates, three goddesses of Destiny 70 

Fauna, a name of Cybele 14 

Fauni, rural deities 79 

Fear, a Roman deity 113 

Fides, a Roman deity ib. 

Flora, a rural deity 79 

Forsette, a son of Odin 166 

Fortuna, a Roman goddess 115 

Freya, a Gothic goddess '.. 167 

Frigga, the wife of Odin 166 

Furies, daughters of Nox 68 

Galli, priests of Cybele 15 

Ganesa, a Hindoo deity .• 145 

Genii, domestic deities 86 

Geryon, a monster with three 

heads 89 

Giants, war of, with Jupiter 19 

Golden age « 13 

Golden fleece H8 

Graces 65 



INDEX. 



193 



PAGE 



Gradivus. an epithet of Mars .... 41 
Grand Lama, king and god in 
Thibet l-* s 

Hades, an epithet of Pluto 34 

Hai-Vang, a Chinese deity 152 

Hamadryads, rural deities 80 

Hammon, the same as Ann m on . 24 
Harpocrates, an Egyptian deity. 125 

Health, a Roman deity 114 

Hebe, goddess of youth 28 

Hecate, a name of Diana 49 

Hector 110 

Heimdel, or Hela. a Gothic 

deity 166, 167 

Helen', twin sister of Pollux 94 

Heliconides, a name of theMuses 68 
Hemera, the offspring of Erebus 

and Xox 8 

Hercules, a demigod 87 

Hermae. statues of Mercury 53 

Hermaia, a festival of Mercury ib. 
Hermes, the Greek name of 

Mercury 52 

Hertha, a' Saxon deity 168 

Hesiochida? 69 

Hesperides, daughters of Hes- 
perus 100 

Hesperus, god of the evening 

star 7. 99 

Hindoo mythology 139 

Hippius, an epithet of Neptune . 34 

Hoder, son of Odin .*. 166 

Honour, a Roman deity 113 

Hope, a goddess of the Romans ib. 

Horus, an Egyptian deity 125 

Hu Gadarn, a god of the Druids 160 

Hyades, daughters of Atlas 99 

Hydra, a monster 88 

Hygeia, goddess of health 114 

Hymeneeus. god of marriage 87 

Hyperion, one of the Titans 43 

Idsea Mater, an appellation of 

Cybele 15 

Iduna, a Gothic goddess 166 

Inachus, a demigod 93 

Indra. a Hindoo deity 146 

Inferior gods 7 

Infernal gods ib. 



PAGE 

Infernal regions 115 

lo. the Grecian Isis 93 

Iris, goddess of the rainbow 25 

Isis, an Egyptian goddess 122 

Janitor, an appellation of Janus. 92 

Janus, a Roman deity 11, 91 

Japetus, one of the Titans 52 

Jason, leader of the Argonauric 

expedition 118 

Jemma, a Japanese deity 152 

Juggernaut, a Hindoo deity 144 

Juno, wife of Jupiter 24 

Jupiter, father and king of gods 

and men 18 



Labours of Hercules 88 

Lachesis, one of the Parca? 70 

Lacksmi, the Hindoo Venus 143 

Lama of Thibet So 

Lares. Larva?, domestic deities So, 86 
Latona, mother of Apollo and 

Diana 42 

Lemures. domestic deities S6 

Lemuria ib. 

Lerna. a lake SS 

Lethe, a river in the Infernal 

Regions 

Libitina. a Romangod of funerals 87 
Libs, genius of the south-west 



wind 83 

Litce, attendants of Jupiter 19 

Loke. a Gothic deity 167 

Lui-Shin, a Chinese deity 152 

Luna, a name of Diana 49 

Lunus, a god of the moon ib. 

Lycaon, king of Arcadia 22 

Magi, priests of the Persians ... 155 
Majna Mater, an appellation of 

Cybele 15 

Mahasoor. a malignant spirit of 

the Hindoos 144 

Mamacocha, a Peruvian deity .. 169 

Manes, domestic deities 86 

Mango Capac, a Peruvian deity. 1C9 

Marine deities >0 

Mars, the god of war 40 

R 



194 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Medusa, one of the Gorgons 96 

Megaera, one of the Furies 69 

Melpomene, one of the Muses 67 
Memnon, the son of Aurora and 

Tithonus 17 

Mendes, an Egyptian deity 125 

Menu, one of the Hindoo Rishis 143 
Mercury, the god of thieving ... 52 
Merodach, a Babylonian deity... 134 
Metis, one of Jupiter's wives ... 20 

Mexican mythology 168 

Midas, a Phrygian king 45 

Minerva, the goddess of wisdom 39 
Minos, one of the infernal judges 105 

Mithras, a Persian deity 154 

Mnemosyne, motherof the Muses 66 

Moloch, a Phoenician deity 136 

Momus, the god of mockery 74 

Mors, death, a daughter of Nox 72 
Morta, aname of one of the Fates 71 
Muses, daughters of Jupiter 66 

Naiades, marine deities 81 

Narayana, a Hindoo deity 110 

Nemesis, an avenging deity 73 

Nephthys, an Egyptian deity ... 125 

Neptune, the god of the sea 28 

Nereides, sea deities 81 

Nereus, father of the Nereides... 80 

Nifleheim, the Gothic hell 167 

Nilus, an Egyptian deity 128 

Niobe, daughter of Tantalus ... 109 

Nona, one of the Fates 70 

Nox, the offspring of Chaos ... 8, 71 
Notus, genius of the south wind 82 

Nuptial deities 86 

Nuptialis, an epithet of Juno ... 26 

Oceanides, sea-nymphs 81 

Oceanus, the son of Tellus and 

Coelus 8 

Odin, a Gothic deity 166 

(Edipus, a hero of antiquity 107 

Opertum, a place where the fes- 
tival of Cybele was celebrated 15 

Ops, a name of Cybele 9 

Optimus Maximus, an appella- 
tion of Jupiter 21 

Orcus, the name of Pluto 34 



Orestes, the son of Agamemnon 69 
Ormuzd, Ormazdes, a Persian 

deity iM . 153 

Oro, a Polynesian deity .......... 171 

Orpheus, a demigod 100 

Osiris, an Egyptian deity 121 

Pachachamae; Paehamarna, a 

Peruvian deity , 169 

Pales, the goddess of shepherds 77 

Palilia, feasts of Pales ib. 

Pallas, a name of Minerva 40 

Pan, a rural deity 75 

Pandora, a woman made by 

Vulcan 97 

Papremis, the Egyptian Mars ... 129 
Parcae, the Latin name of the 

Fates 70 

Pamassides, an appellation of 

the Muses 68 

Parvati, the consort of 143 

Pavan, a Hindoo deity 145 

Pavor. a Roman deity 113 

Pegasus, a winged-horse 1 04 

Pelops, a fabulous hero 108 

Peuates, household gods 84 

Perseus, a demigod..... 95 

Persian mythology 153 

Peruvian mythology 168 

Phaeton, a son of Sol 46 

Philistine idols 135 

Phlegethon, a river of hell 116 

Phoenician mythology 134 

Phorcus, a sea deity 30 

Pietas, a Roman deity 113 

Pieiades, daughters of Atlas 99 

Pluto, god of the infernal regions 32 

Plutus, god of riches 35 

Pollux, twin-brother of Castor... 94 
Polyhymnia, one of the Muses 67 

Polynesian mythology 170 

Pomona, Priapus, a rural deity 79, 80 

Poosa, Chinese deities 152 

Prometheus, a demigod 97 

Proserpine 36 

Proteus, a marine deity 81 

Providentia, a Chinese idol 152 

Py ramus, a Babylonian youth... 63 

Pyrrha, wife of Deucalion 98 

Pythius, an epithet of Apollo .„ 47 



INDEX. 



195 



PAGE 

Quirites, a name of the Romans 41 

Raa, Raitubu, a Polynesian deity 171 
Regina Divum, an appellation 

of Juno 26 

Rhadamanthus, one of the judges 

of hell 105 

Rhea, a name of Cybele 9 

Rimmon. a Syrian deity 135 

Roo, a Polynesian deity 171 

Rural deities 75 

Saga, a Gothic goddess 166 

Sanscrit, a language used by the 

Brahmins 140 

Saraswati. the wife of Brahma... 142 

Saturn, the god of time 9 

SatyavTata, a Hindoo deity 142 

Satyrs, rural deities 79 

Saxon mythology 167 

Seeva, or Mahadeva, a Hindc* 

deity to. 

Sciron, genius of the north-west 

wind 83 

Semele, the mother of Bacchus 55 

Serapis. an Egyptian deixy 127 

Shin-Men, a Chinese deity 151 

Silenus, a rural deity 78 

Sirens, sea-monsters 81 

Sleipner, Odin's horse 43 

Sol, god of the sun 47 

Somnus, the god of sleep 72 

Sphinx, a female monster 107 

Styx, one of the rivers of hell ... 116 

Summanus, a name of Pluto 34 

Superior gods 7 

Surtur, a Gothic deity 167 

Surya. a Hindoo deity 145 

Sylvanus. a rural deity 78 

Synia, a Gothic deity 166 

Syrian mythology 134 

Taaroa, Tahaura. Tairibu, Tama, 

Tane, Polynesian deities 171 

Tantalus, acriminai in Tartarus 108 
Tartarus, the region of punish- 
ment 116 

Taufairei, a Polynesian deity... 171 

Teicnmes, priests of Cybele 15 



PAGE 

Tellus, a Grecian deity 8 

Terah, the father of Abraham ... 4 
Terminus a rural -deity of the 

Romans -. 79 

Terpsichore, one of the Muses... 67 

Terra, the same as Tellus ;.. 

Terrestrial gods 7 

Teruharuhatai, a Polynesian 

deity 171 

Tethys, daughter of Coelus and 

Terra 9 

Teutates, a Celtic deity 159 

Thalia, one of the Graces 65 

Thalia, one of the Muses 67 

Thaut, the same as Thoth 127 

Themis, the goddess of justice.. 72 
Tharamis, the Jupiter of the 

Gauls 159 

Theseus, a Grecian hero 102 

Thor, the Gothic Jupiter 166 

Thoth, the Egyptian Mercury.... 123 
| 'FVfphone, one of the Furies ... 69 
l'Ttan. the son of Terra and Coelus 9 
Trismegistus, an epithet of the 

Egyptian Hermes 128 

Tritons, sea-gods 30, SO 

Typhon, Typhosus, a giant 123 

Tyr. a Gothic deity 167 

Tytain, a god of the Druids 159 

inier, a son of Odin 161 

Urania, one of the Muses 67 

Urania, an epithet of Venus 61 

Uranus, the same as Coelus 8 

Valhalla, the hall of Odin 167 

Valkyries, the attendants of Odin ib. 

Vali, a son of Odin 166 

Vara a Gothic goddess ib. 

Vedas, books of the Hindoo my- 
thology 140 

Venus, the goddess of love and 
beauty 61 

Vertumnus, a rural deity 80 

Vesta the Eider, the same as 
Cybele 16 

Vesta the Younger, daughter of 
Vesta the Elder 37 

Virtus, a Roman deity — 113 



196 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Vishnou, a Hindoo deity 141 

Vitzliputzli, a Mexican deity ... 168 
Voluspa, a poem of the Gothic 

mythology 166 

Vulcan, the god of fire 59 

Winds, temple of the 82 



PAGE 

Yama, the Hindoo god of death 146 

Zend-Avesta, a book of the Per- 
sian mythology 153 

Zephyrus, a god of the west-wind 83 
Zoroaster, a Persian priest and 
philosopher 153 



